Our Genie, Rina
by roughdiamond5
Summary: The flock buys a new iPod and gets a genie instead of songs!  Can't say too much, there's a lot going on.  Fax, but more of  Iggy and someone else.  I'm bad at titles and summaries, so please just read and review!  CHAPTER 12 UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, fanfiction people, roughdiamond5 here. This is my very, very first fanfic, so please don't be too hard on me. I'm still getting used to the fact that I am a member here! But during my short membership, I've already made friends! So I just wanna thank QuEeNoFwHiNiNg and I'll have some stupid cliché for encouraging me to write the story and helping me submit it. And to all the peeps whose stories I have read and reviewed to, love ya! Hope you'll do the same to me.**

**And let me guess, you don't wanna hear the author talk about herself, you just clicked on this because you wanted to see what the title and summary were about. Well, I'll tell you now, I'm bad with titles and summaries, but I think my actual writing is better than my naming skills. So just read my story and tell me if you like it or hate it. Thanks to you all who clicked my story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. The guy who does, James Patterson, is just a superior idol, just like J.K Rowling and Max herself. I just own the plot and the person who pops up later in the chapter.**

**And now, without further interruption, I give you Our Genie, Rina!**

**Chapter One: Ipod "Improvement"**

"Ig……Igster……IGGY!"

"Huh? Whadaya want, Gazzy?"

"I'm bored. Wanna blow that tree up?" I think he was gesturing to one of the many trees in the forest that surrounded our makeshift camp.

"Yeah, sure."

"But what do we use to blow it up with? I'm all out of powder."

"Me too. Hold on, let me think for a second."

Thinking. Yeah, that's going to happen. I can't think about anything besides that dream I was having last night. Gazzy had to yell my name just to get me out of my weird trance! It just comes back to haunt me all the time, especially when I'm asleep. But duh. It's a dream. I mean, I loose my train of thought for one minute, and then I'm back in that forest. I smell salt, so either I'm near an ocean or a cracker factory just exploded. I'll go with the first one. But I can't hear anything. And then I realize that I'm listening to the iPod. And it's stuck on this one song called I'd Do Anything, and it's about this girl who left, and the guy who is singing it really misses her and wants to tell her that he'd do anything to see her again. Dude, that guy needs to get a life. I don't think Fang is even that obsessed with Max. Just pretty close. But anyways, I take off the ear buds as soon as I find myself humming it, and then I realize that it's night. Great. I'm walking in a forest near an ocean at night. And then, out of nowhere, I hear giggling. That's right, some girl is giggling. And I can't even hear her footsteps.

And then behind me, the same girl giggles again. What, am I walking in my underwear? I lightly brush my legs just to feel the denim. Okay, what does this girl find so funny?

Great. More giggling. But now that I'm used to it, I kinda like it. I don't know why, there's just something about it that makes me want to laugh too. But where is she?

"I'm over here!" I heard about ten steps away on my right. Good, now I can go up, say hi, and ask what's so funny.

"Nothing. Just your thoughts." Huh? Now she's about five steps behind my left side. No fair!

"Hey, wait up! Why do you keep changing positions?" I called out. And then I stopped. And I didn't hear her. No breathing, no footsteps suddenly stopping. So now I'm all alone, just me and the iPod in my pocket.

Hey, wait, the iPod? Of course! The iPod!

"Earth to Iggy, are you there, Iggy? This is Gasman Space Station asking are you there?"

"Jeez, Gazzy, I was just thinking about what we could use to blow up that tree!"

"And have you thought of anything yet?"

"Yeah, let's use some of the pieces from the iPod."

"The iPod? Max will kill us if we dismantle the iPod for a bomb!"

"Gazzy, Gazzy, Gazzy, when will you learn? We're not dismantling it, we're improving it."

Suddenly Gazzy understood. "Oh, _improving! _ Yeah, I can do that! Let's improve it!"

Sorry to all you troublemakers out there, but I'm not going to tell you how we made the bomb. I'm not going to have Max murder me for teaching people everywhere how to make bombs out of iPods. So suck it up and keep reading.

Later I asked Gazzy how the iPod looked.

"Like a robot that threw up," he responded. "Max won't like this at all."

"Gazzy, if Max asks, we're telling her that the dismantled look is in, and we're just keeping up with the trends. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now let's blow up a tree!"

Five seconds later I heard a BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM! And Gazzy laughing like a maniac. Or maybe it was me. Who could tell with that amazing boom?

"How did it look?" I asked.

"It was incredible! Fire and flying wood and-" And then hands were on our shoulders. We turned around to see (well, I heard) Max yelling at us.

"Why did you two do that? You could have told the Flyboys where we were with that fire! And now we have to put out the fire from those burning pieces of wood that you set on fire with that explosion! And the sound probably attracted the entire town in here to see us and a former tree! What did you two use for that bomb anyways? I took all your gun powder. Or did I? Explain!"

Gazzy was the first to recover from the shock. "Well, Max, you did take all our powder, but we improvised."

"With what?"

Gazzy didn't speak, but he didn't need to. Max already saw the iPod and freaked. She launched into more screaming and yelling at us. I just went back to thinking about the dream, but I snapped out of it just as Max was saying that now we needed to go into town to get a new iPod.

"But Max, we made it new! The dismantled look is in, and we're just helping with the trends. And since we had leftover pieces, we made a bomb!"

"Yes, but now the iPod doesn't work, Iggy! I swear, you guys are such idiots when it comes to….."

And we just listened to that for a while until Max finally calmed down and took us to the nearest Radio Shack.

We all looked at models of iPods, slender, pink, red, blue, green, black, old, new. I didn't really care about color, just something with a lot of memory so we could all have our favorite songs on it. But no, Nudge and Angel were debating colors with Max and Fang, and Gazzy was looking at the stuff on sale, so that left me to either join the argument or feel the merchandise with Gazzy. It really shouldn't take you that long to figure out what I did, I mean, I'm freaking BLIND.

"Find anything good?"

"Yeah, I found this white iPod that's got a major deal. Wanna hold it?"

"Sure." He put it in my hand and I felt the slender hunk of metal in my palm. "Not bad. I like it. Besides, white is gender neutral, and it's slender, so there's nothing to fight about."

"Yeah, plus it's got enough memory to hold all our favorite songs plus a few more."

"Perfect."

We walked over to where the rest of the flock was, showed them the iPod, and bought it. I swear, it was like we just brought world peace in the form of an iPod, the way everyone just stopped fighting and looked at it in awe.

Later, in a different part of the forest, Fang had just finished downloading all the songs onto it, and everyone was once again fighting over who got to use it first.

"I call it because I haven't listened to the constipation song in FOREVER!" Gazzy said.

"Yeah, and we want to listen to you singing the constipation song! I should get it because I didn't blow the last one up!" Nudge argued.

"Hold it, blind guy here! If anyone, I should be the one to listen to it!" The only reason I wanted it was so I don't have to listen to Nudge singing along with Avril Lavigne.

"I agree with Iggy. He's blind, so he can test the quality of the new headphones." Wow, was Angel actually sticking up for me? I owe her.

"Good point, sweetie. Even if he did blow the other one up, he has the best hearing of us." Wow, Max too? I bet Angel used her mind to make her agree. But why?

And then I felt Fang handing me the iPod. It was good to feel the cool metal. I put in the ear buds and turned it on.

**POV Angel**

"I agree with Iggy. He's blind, so he can test the quality of the new headphones." And then I read Iggy's mind to see his reaction. He was surprised that I was helping him. But he deserved it. I mean, Gazzy was the one who put him up to blowing up the tree, and even if Iggy was the one who suggested using the iPod, he could still test our new one.

"Good point, sweetie. Even if he did blow the other one up, he has the best hearing of us." Wow, Max agrees? And I didn't even have to ask her in my mind!

So Fang handed Iggy the iPod, and with a look of glee Iggy turned it on.

But then the weirdest thing happened. Instead of showing the menu to Iggy, smoke surrounded us, and suddenly strobe lights were shining all over the place. They came to rest on a spot in the sky, where in a poof, a girl appeared. She was about 13, she wore a dark blue t-shirt, tennis shoes, and white capris, and she had thick, wavy brown hair with red highlights. Her eyes snapped open to show an amazing blue, and she smiled at us as she just kinda hovered above us.

"Okay, who turned on my iPod?"

Iggy slowly raised his hand. "

"Oh, hi, how's it going? Wow, I never thought I'd meet Maximum Ride and her flock! Well, actually I did, but I don't look into the future a lot, so I didn't know it would happen today."

We all stared at her, a look of shock and surprise on our faces.

"Oh, I'm sorry, forgot my manners. I'm Sabrina, but call me Rina. You so don't want to know what happens when you don't. So anyways, I'm Rina and I'll be your genie until you use your wishes!"

Come again?

**So there you are, chapter one of Our Genie, Rina. Title makes sense now, doesn't it? If you would be so nice as to give me two reviews, I'll tell you all about Rina in the next chapter. Greedy, aren't I?**

**So please, review review REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, reviews already! Thanks, QuEeNoFwHiNnInG, I'll have some stupid cliché, and bluoreo! Hugs to you all! And to the 27 people who read this and didn't review, well, thanks for looking. But seriously, those reviews make the world go around!**

**Well, I'll just tell you now, it's almost my bedtime, and I don't have my plan for the story with me. That's right, I actually have a plan for this story! I know exactly what's going to happen and how it's going to end. Unless I get 50 reviews, in which I shall have to reward you by planning a bonus chapter. So I promise you, I'm not going to use one entire chapter telling you that I have no clue what's going to happen next, so it might take some time. NOT GONNA HAPPEN! So anyways, I'm tired, it's almost bedtime, and I don't have any plans with me at the moment, so I'm just winging it for now. Get it? Max and the flock (and Rina when she wants to) have wings, so I said I'm- oh, never mind.**

**Disclaimer: The incredible Maximum Ride is not mine. But the plot is, and Rina is so mine. She's kinda based off me. And my friend Lizzy owns her nickname. We were about to get me a ferret, and I wanted to name it Sabrina, and Lizzy suggested Rina as a nickname, but we didn't get a ferret so two years later it was two a.m and I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about writing a fanfic, and then BOOM I had the idea of a genie visiting Max, and I had to name her something and then I thought of the unused name Rina! Sorry, I should be rambling about the story, not how Rina came to be.**

**Chapter Two: "Come Again?"**

**POV Max**

"Come again?" Angel was the first to speak.

"Well, I'm Rina, and I'm going to be your genie! Iggy turned on my iPod, so I came out after about ten years, and now I'm going to grant you 3 wishes. But wait….."

"What does she look like, Gazzy?" Iggy asked.

"You know, I could just project an image into your head." Apparently, Rina had overheard.

"But how can you do that?" Iggy spoke our minds.

"Well, I should have mentioned this earlier, but I have every superpower that was ever thought of. You name it, I got it."

"X-ray vision?" Nudge asked.

"Yep."

"Laser vision?"

"Yep."

"Flying, strength, morphing?"

"Yep, uh-huh, and yeah."

"Show me."

"You really need proof? Fine, what do you want me to turn in to?"

"How about a bird kid? Yeah, a bird kid! It would be like you were one of us!"

"Fine." And with that, slits that instantly appeared in her shirt let out amazing purple wings that stretched for over 16 feet. And yes, I did say purple.

Iggy leapt back in surprise. "Whoa!"

"What are you talking about, Ig? You're BLIND!" This came from Fang.

"I….I know, but at first all I heard was the sound of someone opening their wings, and then I saw a brown haired girl with huge purple wings surrounded by forest!"

"That's me." said Rina. "I heard in your mind that you got tired of asking what was happening long ago, so I sent an image of me with my wings into your head so you didn't have to ask!"

Ig, who was still waving his hand in front of his eyes, stopped. "So you only sent an image to my head. You didn't, like, fix my eyes or anything?"

"No, I just showed you what Gazzy saw. I could have done it, but that's a bit too drastic for only just meeting. I showed you wings because you're used to that. Now, I don't think you're used to my wings changing color, or a girl like me lifting that huge tree over there and then levitating it fifty feet off the ground, so I'm just going to let this all sink in before I show it to you."

"Wait," Gazzy said. "I've got a few questions for you. Can you really do all that, are you really going to give us three wishes, and HOW DID YOU KNOW OUR NAMES?"

"Well, to answer your first question, yes, I can do all that. For your second question, duh, I'm a genie, of course I'm going to give you three wishes! You got me out of that iPod when things were getting really boring, so even if I didn't have to, I'd still give you the wishes! But wait…. Oh, of course!"

"Any day now would be nice!" I think Iggy was still ticked that she hadn't given him his eyesight back.

"Well, sorry, I do that sometimes."

"It's okay, Ig here has been spacing out all day." Gazzy said.

"Yeah, I know. Some teenager who was really obsessed with his girlfriend daydreamed about the power to see what anyone in the world was doing at that moment, so I have that power. I've been watching you guys for a while now."

"But why?" I asked.

"Because I looked into the future and saw that I'm going to help you save the world."

Oh. That. She just had to remind me that I have yet to save the world from those stupid scientists. Like those kids can't do that themselves. I mean, they did a great job with the riot at Itex! But wait, if she has every superpower in the world, then she could help us…..but she's only allowed to give us three wishes!

"Well, actually, Max, I can give you more than three wishes." Great, just what I need. Another mind reader.

"Sorry, Max, sometimes I have to read your mind. But anyways, I can give you more than three wishes."

"Oh yeah? Well how's that work?" I challenged. "I thought we aren't allowed to wish for more wishes."

"Well, no, you aren't, but that's the only rule. But as a genie, until I am set free, I can give any one master lifelong wishes. I'd be with them until they die, then I'll have used up my lifelong wishes, and I'll go back to giving three a person. I need to use my powers and my best judgment to decide who gets those wishes, and since you can't save the world all by yourself- no offense- I think you'd be the best person to give the wishes to."

"Wow, really?"

"Really. Do you want them? Because I think you might not like me at first."

"How could we not like you?"

"I get as annoying as Nudge when she's hungry."

"HEY!" Nudge shouted

"Sorry, but it's true!"

Hmmm, better see what the flock thinks. "Um, can we-"

"Sure, go ahead, Max! I promise I won't listen in. Just press the play button when you need me." And with that she got sucked into the iPod that was in Iggy's hand.

"Well, that was interesting," Fang said. Massive understatement.

"She didn't even answer how she knew our names!" Gazzy whined.

"She was spying on us for a while, so she must have learned them." Angel explained.

"So do we want her to stay?" I asked.

"She called me annoying! I'm not that annoying! Or am I? I can't tell, I just say when I'm hungry because we burn calories really fast and I don't like being hungry, it makes me feel all sick so I have to say something because Max has the card and she can-" I put a hand over her mouth.

"Well, we can have an annoying genie who gives us only three wishes, which isn't any help, but we wouldn't have to put up with her for so long," said Fang.

"I didn't think she was annoying, she was funny!" Angel said.

"Or we have an annoying genie who gives us lifelong wishes, which would help us a lot, but then we'd have to put up with her longer," Fang finished as he put his hands out like scales.

"Sweetie, did you pick up anything from her mind?" I asked Angel.

"Yeah, kinda, she thought stuff like 'wow, I'm meeting Maximum Ride and the flock!' and she mentioned the books you wrote, and she also read everyone else's minds when she first came out. But then she remembered that I could read minds and she told me she wasn't trying to be rude, but she was going to shut me out because her thoughts are where she can think anything she wants to and she doesn't want them intruded. And then I didn't hear anything from her."

"Well, I think she means well, she just likes to be herself, which might be why she might think she's annoying. Plus we can always wish her into her iPod if she gets unbearable." This plan was starting to sound really good.

"So she can stay?" Nudge asked

"I thought you were mad at her for calling you annoying." Gazzy said

"Well, yeah, but it would be really cool to have a genie who can grant us all our wishes. Plus I want to see her superpowers!"

"Ig, you want to add anything?" I noticed Iggy hadn't said anything so far.

"Huh? Oh, sure, fine, let her stay," he said distractedly.

"Good, then it's settled. Rina will stay and give us eternal wishes!" Everyone cheered except Fang (well, duh, he's Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent!) and Iggy. I wonder what's going on in his head.

**POV Iggy**

I know everyone was wondering why I was spacing out so much, but it wasn't because of the dream. Well, actually it was. Kinda. It's just that in the dream, the laughter sounded kinda familiar all of a sudden. I don't think I've heard it before. I mean, I've heard Max, Nudge, and Angel laugh, so it can't be any of them. Hmm, any girls I've met lately? Well, duh, Rina! But I don't think I've heard her laugh. Her voice and the giggling from the dream just seem to match. And that would explain the giggling girl changing positions and laughing about what I was thinking about and disappearing. But there are two things: what did the iPod have to do with anything, and how could Rina and that girl be the same person if the girl was flirting and Rina is a tomboy? Well, Rina did come from the iPod, but why was it stuck on that one song, I'd Do Anything? Great, now my head hurts. Onto the other question. Well, I don't know, maybe they aren't the same person. But I've only known Rina for what, ten minutes? Maybe she's not as tomboy as I thought. She ought to stay around so then I can find out more about her. But how to make her laugh that way? Maybe it'll just happen? Who knows?

"Ig, you want to add anything?" Everyone was looking at me. What were they talking about? Oh, right, Rina.

"Huh? Oh, sure, fine, let her stay," good, that ought to satisfy them. Maybe I'll just ask someone about the dream later. Someone who already thinks I'm crazy so then they won't be surprised when I tell them about it. In the distance I hear cheering. Max must have let her stay. Good, now I can see how tomboy she really is.

**POV Max**

I pressed the play button on the iPod, and Rina poofed in front of me.

"Well, can I stay and help?"

"We all say yes. Your first mission: help us decide where to go."

"YES! I get to stay with Maximum Ride!" She was literally jumping up and down. Then she collected herself. "Sorry, I'm just so excited! I'm a big fan of your books! And speaking of books, how about we try Fang's idea of sending a worldwide email?"

"I already did that." Fang said.

"Yeah, I know, but we could go to the Microsoft company and make them write a message so it gets to absolutely every computer! Plus you could even do a video and send that!"

Fang looked at me. "I like it. Break into Microsoft, make them send an email or video that can get to everyone. We can even bring proof, and we'll have it on video, and we can scram once we send it so no one can catch us."

"Yeah, but where is Microsoft?" I asked.

"Seattle," Rina said. "Plus I happen to know that Itex people are meeting in Seattle in two weeks to add the final touches to the By-Half plan. We can spy on them and find out what stops them, then we can send the video to warn the people! And if they don't say it, I can get it out of them mind reading style!"

"Sounds like a plan. Well, let's fly across the country to Seattle!"

"Tomorrow," Fang said. "We'll need rest, food, and supplies before we can get anywhere."

**Well, there you have it! Chapter 2 of Our Genie, Rina! Chapter 3 is a funny chapter. Well, I think it is, anyways. Rina gets really annoying, which makes it funny. And I promise, more romance to come!**

**But of course, you can only see the romance and funny stuff if I get 4 reviews. I know, I just doubled what I asked for last time, but I love to see them and they help motivate me to type more! Especially since no one in my house knows about this. Except mom, but she's nice enough not to read this. So anywhose, review quicker and you will see a third chapter sooner! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Greetings, beloved readers, roughdiamond5 says hello! Sorry I haven't updated for a few days, but I couldn't write Friday because it was my birthday and I can't desert my birthday guests just to write chapter 3! And yesterday, well, you don't want to know. And today I was just going to do some quick laundry, but then my parents left me an extra two loads and my neighbors forced me to play, so you're all just lucky I'm here and alive to give this to you!**

**Thanks to hxbc, bubbleblower, Iggy's Eyes and maximumlovr for the reviews! You all make me feel loved and stuff. Sorry it took so long! Oh, and Iggy's Eyes, I'll try not to ramble much. I just had to explain everything! Plus you all owe DarkBlade98 because I was going to update later (procrastinator that I am), but his review convinced me to update now!**

**Guess what? I've changed the bonus chapter rules. There will be no bonus chapter. Instead, if I get my 50 reviews, I shall reward you all with a sequel! I've got the basic idea, and I'm going to write the plan once I get like 15 reviews, but please do the 50 reviews, I want to do this so bad! It'll be fun! I just need the popularity vote. And there'll be more of that genie stuff, you know, the rules, Rina's sister telling you all about genie training. Oops, did I say that part about Rina's sister? Forget that, you'll just have to meet her by contributing to those 50 reviews!**

**Disclaimer: last I checked I wasn't a boy, nor was I named James Patterson. You can assume the rest.**

**Chapter 3: Are We There Yet?**

**POV Rina (you all can celebrate, now you get to see Rina in action!)**

YES! They let me stay! I love the flock! And they were all so nice about me during the debate. Yes, I looked in, and I know you people in the audience are all going, "Rina, how could you break your promise to Max?" and I'd just like to say that if you discovered that your favorite fictional characters were real and you had a chance to live with them but they had to debate it first, wouldn't you want to listen in too?

So anyways, I got to decide where we were going to go. And since I know that Itex is going to meet in Seattle to start the By-Half Plan, we could listen in. I could make us invisible, or we could crawl through the vents once I shrunk us, or whatever. I'll have the entire flight to figure out what we're going to do. Except one problem: Max wished me back into the iPod for the flight.

So after they slept and got supplies provided by yours truly, they wished me into the iPod and took off. I just now got out of the stupid iPod, why can't I fly with them? I mean, with my magic I made the iPod a mansion, but if you had to live in it for possibly hundreds of years without being able to even open windows, you'd get bored pretty easily. If not for the ever changing chapters of fanfiction I'd be dead. But wait, I don't have all these powers for nothing! Time for some mental begging!

"Max?"

"Huh? What, sweetie?"

"Strike one. I'm not Angel." Eeeeww, she called me sweetie!

"Voice?"

"Strike two, but you're getting close. I'm just as annoying"

"Well, who else can talk to me in my mind?"

"Guess."

"Uh, Rina?"

"And she hits the ball and it's going….going….and it's OUTTA HERE! Home run! Yeah, it's Rina."

"Oh, well, what do you want, Rina?"

"I want out."

"What, why?"

"Well, yeah, I live in a mansion, but I've lived in the same mansion for hundreds of years! It gets boring after a decade or two. I want to feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair! And if you're not used to wingless flying I can morph into a bird kid again!"

"But you might…well, you could-"

"What, annoy you? Why would I want to? If I get too annoying you could wish me back into my iPod, which would be like a punishment because I get bored of that place really easily and I wouldn't be able to come out because you wished me there! So what do you say?" I hope that sounded really convincing. My friends say that if I wasn't born a genie I could be a lawyer. I always found a way to convince mom to give me the last slice of pie!

"Well, alright, but the second you become unbearable you get back in that iPod! And don't use those purple wings. Just let me warn the flock." In the distance I heard a "Look out guys, Rina's gonna fly with us."

"YES!" I whispered. I counted to 3, then grew some red wings and poofed out to see stares from everyone but Iggy, but he was aware of my presence because his head turned towards me when I started flapping.

"Rina, red is SO not your color," Nudge said after a second.

"Yeah, try a light brown or something," Angel suggested.

"No way, that's too normal, she should use a black or something," Nudge complained

"But that clashes with her hair!"

As the argument sped on, I wished that I hadn't brought up the fact that I could change the color of my wings. Then I changed them to a white that was whiter than Angel's, if that was possible. They must have glowed or something, because Nudge and Angel stopped arguing and grinned at them.

"Wow, good choice, Rina!" said Angel

"Yeah, they look a lot like Angel's, and they bring out your eyes!" said Nudge

"Glad to hear that I can make a fashion statement," I replied. Then everyone resorted to flying and looking at the ground, or in Fang's case, at Max. He's been doing that ever since he was four, and I find it funny! It's also kinda cool to watch him do it in person. And his thoughts while he looks at her are really sweet! Why don't they just get together? She totally likes him back.

I don't think you've ever known about this, but being an inexperienced flyer, I had no clue what to do with my arms when flying. My legs were doing just fine dangling, but there are so many things to do with your arms even if you don't do the Superman. I resorted to putting my hands in my pockets and trying to look like I did this flying thing every day.

But besides the whole "where do I put my arms" thing, I had nothing to think about. I could think about my ex-boyfriend, but in the end I get so mad that I punch the first thing I see, which is not a good impression to make on your new masters. I could think about my friends, but I don't have that many and I already thought about them. I tried entertaining myself in many ways, but since I didn't think the flock wanted to see a flying La-Z-Boy with a TV in front of it, I couldn't entertain myself that much. I was dwelling on a memory of my school and this chant I learned, and I decided to try it again. Now, for a two-syllable word. How about July?

"July, July, bobly, banana fanna fofly, JULY!" I muttered under my breath. Iggy turned my way, but otherwise no one heard. That was entertaining, so I tried another one.

"August, August, bobaugust, banana fanna fofaugust, AUGUST!" I continued for at least half an hour using any two-syllable word that came to mind for my chant. I raise my voice so that everyone could hear, but as long as I was having fun I didn't care. The looks on their faces were worth it! And then finally it occurred to me to use the flock's names.

"Iggy, Iggy, bobiggy, banana fanna fofiggy, IGGY!" Iggy blushed when he heard his name. Everyone turned to stare at him. God, his blush was so nice against his pale face, and- What did I just say? Jeez, what am I thinking? He's above me! Or I'm above him. And why would I like him in that way anyways? Great, I'm going crazy. Back to the chant!

"Gazzy, Gazzy, bobazzy, banana fanna fofazzy, GAZZY!" And then everyone turned to stare at Gazzy.

"Angel, Angel, bobangel, banana fanna fofangel, ANGEL!"

"Brandon, Brandon, bobandon, banana fanna fofan-"

"Hey, wait! Who's Brandon?" This came from Nudge.

"Just a friend of mine. He's in Japan at the moment with his master. Why?"

"Well, you just used half the flock's names and not the other half. Why?"

"Because if you haven't noticed, I've only been using words with two syllables. Otherwise the rhyme doesn't work."

"Well that's no fair! Try to use the other half!"

"Well, okay, I'll try. Nudge, Nudge, bobudge, banana fanna fofudge, NUDGE!" I felt ridiculous, but then again if I hadn't done that stupid chant, I wouldn't be doing this.

"He he, my name is Fudge! Now do Fang!"

"Fang, Fang, bobang, banana fanna fofang, FANG!"

"Aw, that didn't change his name at all! Do Max! Maybe she'll have an interesting twist."

"Max, Max, bobax, banana fanna fofax, MA-" I never got to finish the chant because I started laughing. FAX! Oh, that's good! I stopped laughing enough to see the flock looking at me weird.

"What's so funny about that?" said Gazzy.

"It was the word Fax." I replied through my snickers.

"So what? It's a machine!" said Nudge.

"Yeah, but Fax can mean something else," and then I burst into hysterics.

"Well, what does it mean?" Iggy asked.

I considered telling them, but decided against it. Max and Fang would kill me, and then they'd send my remains back into the iPod. "Can't tell ya," I claimed.

That shut everyone up. I looked into their minds and they were trying to figure out what I was laughing at. But they never would! Insert evil laugh here.

"Can you at least give us a hint?" That wasn't out loud, that was inside my head. I freaked for a minute, but then I realized that I had let my guard down, so Angel had access to my mind.

"Why should I?"

"We want to know what's so funny!"

"Oh, fine. But I have to explain something first. When I'm not granting wishes and I don't want to watch TV, I read something called fanfiction, where members of the website read and write stories based on books, movies, cartoons, TV, anime, and anything fictional. There's ever fanfiction for Maximum Ride, which I read most of the time. I'm a member, metamorphosis75. **(a/n: to possible members, this name is not taken, feel free to use it!) **And when I read Max fanfics I look for stories with Fax in them. Fax is romance between Max and Fang, and I was laughing because here I am with the real Max and Fang, and they're not together, like in some fanfics, so they'd probably kill me for mentioning it!"

"That's not very funny."

"Yeah, I know, but I want to get Max and Fang embarrassed. I mean, they totally want each other, so if we act like it's really funny and act like we know the idea is ridiculous, they might admit they like each other to prove us wrong! So just pretend it's really funny."

And then Angel burst out laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Nudge asked.

"Rina told me what the other definition of Fax means!"

"Really? What does it mean?" Angel whispered it in Nudge's ear, and Nudge, in a fit of giggles, told Gazzy, who whispered it to Iggy while laughing. And the best part is that I think Iggy smiled in my direction before he started laughing. Gah! Did I say best? I meant worst, weirdest, most sickening. So anyways, now everyone was laughing except Max and Fang.

"What's so funny, Iggy?" Max asked.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked back.

"Yes. Now spill before I make you."

"Fine. Fax means romance between you and Fang." And then he laughed some more, even though he couldn't see Max turning red and Fang turning redder. Ooh, here it comes! Admit it!

"I'm gonna KILL you!" Fang yelled. Wow, that's so not Fang. But then again I thing Max's blush was threatening to melt her face, so she was speechless, so someone had to say something!

Iggy held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, don't kill the messenger! Gazzy told me!" he pointed at Gazzy. He pointed at Nudge, who pointed at Angel who pointed at me who pointed back at Angel. Max was trying to send a death glare at me through her blush, and Fang looked ready to strangle me.

"Hey, someone had to suggest it sometime!" That did it. Fang lurched towards me with murder in his eyes. I flew a bit to my right and dodged him, then shot up higher. He followed me, and the flock (except for Max) started laughing for real this time as Fang tried to strangle me. Finally, some action! I think Max tried to regain her ability to speak and wish me back into the iPod, but (a) apparently I made her so embarrassed that she wasn't going to speak for a while, and (b) I was flying so fast that I probably wouldn't have heard her anyways.

This continued for ten minutes or so until Max recovered enough to put her hand on Fang's shoulder, which stopped him cold, I might add. He got lost in her eyes, and suddenly his thoughts changed from "Kill the girl" to "God, she's so beautiful when she's embarrassed." Needless to say I sent this thought to everyone in the flock, who started laughing manically. The only difference was that the boys had an "ew" face on as they laughed, while the girls just laughed. Once again Max and Fang looked confused.

"You don't want to know." I told them. And in that calming way I have I told them that nothing had happened in the last half hour except for me running out of words for my chant and stopping. The younger kids and Iggy looked confused. I sent a thought to them: "Sorry, guys, I had to hypnotize them into thinking that nothing happened. Otherwise I'd be dead and sent back to my iPod."

Then everyone went back to flying.

**POV Iggy**

After Rina hypnotized Max and Fang so that they wouldn't remember anything, nothing of interest happened. It was really funny when Rina tried to get Max and Fang together and ended up getting chased, and I give her credit for trying, but I think I can do it better. But what to do….

**Two hours later**

I finally developed a plan to get Max and Fang together. It might not work, but if it did, they would be soul mates. Not that they weren't in the first place, they just didn't know that they liked each other. I just hoped this worked.

"Start landing guys, we're going to camp in that forest down there!" I heard Max call out. I smelled salt. How did we get to the ocean so fast?

"We're not at the ocean, we're at the Great Salt Lake!" Rina said. Oh. Well, the Great Salt Lake is good too. I wish she's stop reading our minds, though.

We landed and had just finished folding up our wings when Nudge said "I'm hungry!" Figures.

"Ig, can you make us some food?" Max asked.

"Yeah, and we actually have a variety to choose from. What do you want?"

"How about some fish sticks? And some mac 'n cheese?"

"I can do that." I took out the portable stove and filled a pot with the mac 'n cheese (all supplies provided by Rina). I'd fry the fish sticks later.

Hey Iggy, can I talk to you?" Rina asked.

"Uh, sure." What did she want?

"To talk to you about what you were thinking about while we were flying."

"Which thought?"

"The plan to get Max and Fang together."

"Oh, that. What about it?"

"I want to help you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I can really help you. I can, oh, I don't know, project love songs and memories of each other into their heads, and I can persuade them to go according to plan if they don't cooperate, and these plans shouldn't be one-man operations, so what do you say? Can I help?"

"Well, I don't know, are you sure you want to?"

"Definitely. I can make us invisible so we can follow them and make sure it works."

"But why do you want to help me?"

"Because even Max and Fang deserve a happy ending. Why do you want to?"

"Same here. I've known them forever, and they really like each other, they just don't know the other likes them back."

"So can I help?"

"Sure." I held out my hand. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to trust her. "Shake?"

"I prefer smoothies myself, but I'll gladly shake your hand if it means you'll trust me."

I grinned and we shook. I'll have to remember that she likes smoothies better.

**So there you have it, Chapter 3. Personally I don't think it's that good or funny. I can't be funny when I want to be. Chapter one wasn't meant to be funny, but you guys thought it was! Please tell me in a review if you thought it was funny or not! This will help contribute to the sequel!**

**Now I have some sad news to tell you. I'm leaving on July 4 to go to my grandma's house, and I won't be back until the twelfth! And I can't exactly update over there because then my grandparents would get suspicious that I was writing and then they'd want to read my stories! Which I don't want to happen. Plus my grandma wants me to look at flowers and quilt with her, and I can't get on a computer if she wants me to do that with her!**

**But I promise, before I leave I will give you chapter four (which has the plan to get Max and Fang together in it!) and possibly chapter 5 (which will be shorter but will open a possibility! I am now taking guesses as to what that possibility is, and your name will be mentioned if you guess it right!) before I leave, and I might get away with giving you more chapters while I'm at my grandparent's house! **

**So please, review! And remember, 50 reviews means a sequel! **


	4. The Fax Plan

**(sniff) Five reviews in one day, oh, you all make me feel loved! I'd like to hug and give a million thanks each to Lauren (aka QuEeNoFwHiNnInG), CynicalInkSlinger, DarkBlade98, maximumride4ever, and Maximum Ride all the way for the reviews! You rock!**

**Okay, some people have correctly guessed the possibility in chapter 5. Sorry, but I'm not going to name these people in this chapter because I'm not revealing the possibility in this chapter (just giving hints ), plus everyone would go and see what reviews they sent and then I'd have to list about a million people who didn't try figuring out what it is. And another thing about chapter 5: I might not be able to write it today, possibly for a while. Hey, blame dad, he took the time that could be spent writing and made me scrub toilets with my brother, so then I couldn't write!**

**Okay, so last time we saw the flock they were setting camp at the Great Salt Lake, and Rina and Iggy were agreeing to work together to get Max and Fang together. We're just going to fast forward to when they figure out the plan and have almost started it. Here goes, this is my first time with fluff. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I read somewhere (I can't remember exactly where at the moment) that we don't need to do disclaimers because we agreed to the fine print and so we're protected by fanfiction or something like that. I'd just like to say to the person who thought of that that you are a genius and I totally back you up 100 percent, but I just like to say it anyways, just in case. So here goes: I don't own Max or the flock, I just own a digital camera, my iPod, any candy I've ever eaten, Rina, and what everyone does in this story. Got it? Good!**

**Chapter 4: The Fax Plan (I'm just so creative with titles, aren't I? Note sarcasm.)**

**POV Iggy**

I swear, Rina is a genius. That could be one of her superpowers, but she really is! She came up with more than half the stuff for our plan! Yeesh, what am I saying? I meant to say that she's pretty clever. And yet she also asks if I have any ideas or anything to contribute, like my opinion counts.

But anyways, we finally decided on a plan, and by that time dinner was ready, so we decided to start the plan after dessert. I know what you're thinking, dessert? But we're on the run, how can we have dessert? Well, when you have a genie, anything's possible. But according to the plan, some things can't be possible.

During dinner, everyone was quieter than usual. This might have been because we were all enjoying our food too much to talk, or it may have been that Rina was mentally telling Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel our plan and Max and Fang were lost in each other's eyes. But being a blind guy, I'm only guessing about the eyes.

"Don't worry, Iggy, you guessed right, they're totally lost in the other's eyes. Each of them just keeps glancing back."

"Rina, would you mind? I'm eating here!"

"Oh, sorry. Just wanted to let you know that Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy are going to say their lines, and we should start the plan soon."

"Fine. Is everyone done eating?"

"Almost. You want me to just signal to Nudge when it's time, or do you want me to ask first?"

"You can go ahead and signal her."

A few minutes later I heard Nudge. "Wow, that was really good, Iggy! But I'm still hungry. Anything for dessert?"

Huh? Nudge complemented me? She was just supposed to ask about the dessert! What was that all about? I then remembered that I had a line, and said "Uh, nope, nothing for dessert."

"Well, Rina can just give us some, right?" Nudge asked.

"I want strawberries!" Said Gazzy, right on queue.

"Sorry, I can't make strawberries. No one ever thought of that power. But the scout for Lewis and Clark dreamed of the power to know what's ahead of you without going there, and I got that power so I know that there's this cliff looking over the lake, and it has these really juicy strawberry bushes! Does anyone want to go get some?"

"I think Max and Fang should go," Angel said. "Rina and Iggy can take care of us."

"Why me and Fang? Why not Rina?" Max asked. Why should she question this, she gets to be alone with the boy of her dreams!

"Because Rina can entertain us and protect us here, and she can just give you directions in your minds, and Iggy needs to be here to cook. Plus you should go together because that forest looks kinda dangerous and you'll need protection." Well, folks, there you have it, Angel, our little liar.

"But…but…isn't Rina supposed to have any power ever thought of? Why can't she just poof some or grow some?" Max running out of arguments already? Wow, never thought that could happen.

"I told you already, no one thought of that power!"

"Well, alright. C'mon, Fang, let's go."

"Here's a basket! Don't hurry back!" I think Rina gave them a basket, and then everyone probably waved goodbye.

Once I couldn't hear them I asked Rina "Wasn't the 'don't hurry back' a bit much?"

"Well, maybe. You want me to make them forget it?"

"Only if they get really suspicious. Oh, and one more question?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you really have the power to grow strawberries?"

"I do now!" she said with glee in her tone. Then we left the kids with Nudge and went into the forest in the general direction Fang and Max were headed.

"We need to talk in our minds, so try not to make a sound." Rina told me.

"Isn't that more of a Fang thing?" I asked (in my mind, of course)

She laughed a small giggle. "Fair enough. Just try; we don't want our cover blown."

We kept walking a good distance behind Max and Fang. Rina was nice enough to inform me of what was going on. For example, "Okay, I made us invisible, so we can get a bit closer." and "Now Fang keeps on glancing at Max, and he's thinking about how the moonlight makes her hair glow. And Max is wondering what his lips taste like." I couldn't help but notice the tone in her voice that said "This is kinda weird, but I'm trying to hide how I feel about that." I sent her a thought saying that I felt the same way.

Finally, I heard Rina saying "Okay, they're at the cliff. They picked the strawberries." And sure enough, about ten feet away from us I heard Max ask, "Do you think this is enough?" and Fang saying "Yeah."

"I'm going to make them sit down on that rock twenty feet away at two o clock." A few seconds later I heard Fang ask "Do you want to sit down?" and Max saying "Sure. I'm kinda tired anyways." I heard tow thumps as they sat down, and then nothing. "What's happening?" I asked.

"They're sitting and watching the sunset. And they're both glancing at each other. Any suggestions as to what they should think to make them get on with it?"

"Well, you could show them the memory of Max kissing Fang at the beach, or you could show them images of each other flying or whatever."

"Good idea." There was a pause, and then Max spoke.

"Hey, you know what I just remembered?"

"What?"

"That time when….oh, wait, maybe you don't want to know."

"I do. What?"

"Well, there was that time when we were fighting, and you lost a lot of blood, so we went to the beach, and…."

"Yeah?" I could tell that he wanted to see where this was going.

"I kissed you?"

There was a pause. I bet they were both pretty embarrassed about that.

"Did I ever tell you that I liked that?" What the….? This was NOT Fang, I bet that's Fang 2; the real one would never say that!

"No, it's the real one. He wouldn't say that he liked it, so I made him. This should help move things along, unless his blush makes his face disappear." Oh.

"You did?" Max asked, an unbelieving tone in her voice.

"Yeah, I did. But why did you do it?"

Now it was Max's turn to blush. I think. "Well, you looked really bad, and I didn't want anything bad to happen to you…..look, I just did it. I wasn't thinking."

"Oh yeah? Well, were you thinking when you kissed me back in that cave? Or told me you love me soooooooooo much when we were getting your chip out?" Was Fang actually teasing? Oh, this was gonna get good.

"Well, okay, I was thinking at those points, but you kissed me first and I got caught up in the moment! And that other thing was the valium talking! I was drugged!"

"Sure, you just keep telling yourself that." And then there was silence.

"Any other great tricks you'd like to share with us?" I asked.

"I know you're kidding, but I do have one left. My friend used it to get her master and his girlfriend to stop fighting. All I have to do is play a love song in their heads."

"Perfect. Any ideas?" I asked.

"Nope. You?"

I thought back to those Disney videos the younger kids watched back in Colorado. "Well, you could do that song called 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight?'"

"Nah, I don't know that one. Quick, they're thinking of leaving!"

"How about 'Kiss the Girl'?"

"Perfect!"

We waited a few minutes for the song to end. Then when it finally did, Fang said "Max, can I tell you something?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." I could tell she was curious as to what he had to say.

"Iggy, do you want to know what Fang is about to say?"

"No, I'd rather hear him say it personally and be surprised."

"Maximum Ride, I just wanted to let you know that I've loved you ever since I knew you. I know I'm embarrassing myself by saying this, but I can't stop thinking about you. You've been on my mind for years, and if I don't tell you now I'll never tell you because there's the flock and my reputation for being Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent, but I've only been that way because I can't stop looking at you and thinking about you, and I know anyone would want you because you're so beautiful and smart and strong, and I know I'm not good enough for you, but I just have to say this. So I love you. And if you can ever find time to have a boyfriend after saving the world I hope you'll consider me for the position."

Everyone was surprised except Rina. Fang was surprised, but who wouldn't be if they'd just poured out their feelings after keeping them bottled up for so long, Max was surprised because the man of her dreams had just admitted his love for her, and I, well, I just never heard lover boy say that much before.

"Fang, I don't think we can be boyfriend and girlfriend after I save the world." WHAT? What was Max doing rejecting Fang? It doesn't work like that!

"Oh. Why not?" Fang sounded really hurt, but as almost always he was trying not to let it show.

"Because I want to have a boyfriend before that time, and I hope it'll be you." And judging from the sounds I heard soon after that, they were kissing.

"C'mon, Iggy, we should leave, they'll be at it for a while."

"Okay." I was still a little dazed from what happened just now, but I followed her footsteps. We were originally going back to camp, but we just kind of wandered off on our own little walk. I heard sniffles.

"Are you crying?"

"Uh huh. I always get kinda emotional. I mean, they're finally together! I just can't believe it."

"Yeah, me neither. Fnick finally got his girl." I reached for where her hand would be to comfort her a bit. She stiffened, but then relaxed. I sent a smile her way. We walked like that for a while, and Rina didn't tell me that we should head back to camp. How long can two people kiss?

"A long time, Iggy, a long time. I think the record is four days."

"Do you read everyone's mind all the time? Because it's getting annoying."

"No, not all the time. I just peek in, and I just happen to come in whenever you ask those rhetorical questions that I know the answer to. If it's so annoying, just wish for me to stop. Here, I'll ever start you off. 'Rina, I wish you would….'"

"Now why would I do that?"

"Because I'm your genie."

"Yes, but you're a person too. And people have the right to be annoying. And even though they haven't made an amendment for mind readers, I wouldn't want them to if it meant them finding out that there is such a thing as mind reading."

"You know, you're the first person to realize that genies are people too. Well, apart from that Aladdin kid." I could tell that she was pleased.

"Oh, so he exists?"

"Yeah, a long time ago. But his genie is still alive. He kept his powers when he got freed, so now he's off making life appear on other planets. That's how the rumor of life on other planets got started, because the genie told Aladdin and Aladdin told everyone else."

"Interesting. Do you know everything?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how many people have dreamed of the power of knowing. For example, I know that someone should be heading back to camp if he doesn't wan Max and Fang to find him missing."

"Finally, they stopped! Could you maybe poof me over or something?"

"Yeah, sure, just stand right in front of me." She directed me on where to go. "I'll walk back, so just tell them I went out to look for them. Then when I come back I'll ask where they were and what took them so long, then they'll admit to kissing. Sound good?"

"Yeah. How do you come up with these things?"

"I use my powers to freeze time and think things through. See you at camp, Iggy!"

"See ya. Oh, and one last thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me Ig."

"Okay, Ig. Bye!"

And then I was back at camp. Nudge and Gazzy ran up to me and asked "What happened? Did they fight?"

"What, you mean Rina didn't tell you?" They kissed!"

Everyone cheered and asked me about every single detail. Finally, Angel asked "Where's Rina?"

"She's going to walk back. Max and Fang are coming, so she'll arrive after them and pretend she was looking for them and ask them what took them so long. Then they'll have to tell us all about their kissing each other." I was responded with a chorus of "Yeah"s and cheers.

We were pretending to be busy when Max and Fang got back with the strawberries. Gazzy took the basket and gave it to me, and then I started cutting them and covering them with whipped cream. "Anything good happen while we were out?" Max asked.

"Rina went out and looked for you. Otherwise, nothing much."

At that moment, Rina burst in through some trees. "Hey, guys, haven't found them yet, but- hey, you're back! What took you so long? Did you get lost or something?"

Max and Fang looked at each other, then Max said "Yeah, lost, that's it."

From her tone Rina was scowling. "C'mon, guys, I know you didn't get lost. Now spill. What happened?"

"You're a genie. Wouldn't you know?" Fang growled. "Hey, be a little nicer to someone who just landed you with your dream girl!" I felt like growling back.

"Well, yeah, but I want to hear you say it." From her smug tone she probably had an evil grin on.

"Fine. Fang and I kissed." Gazzy whooped, the girls snickered and I was grinning the same evil grin Rina probably had on. Finally, Max and Fang were together!

**And there it is, Chapter 4! Everyone's so happy, right? Did you guys like it or totally hate it? Please tell me in a review! But no flames please, this is my first time with fluff and love. I had to use other books and fanfics for inspiration! **

**I might have enough time to give you chapter 5 (key word: MIGHT), and remember, that chapter will be shorter, but it will open up a possibility. Taking guesses as to what that possibility is! Please guess in a review, this is a chance to get your name mentioned! It's not that hard, this chapter had a hint (or two….or three….)!**

**But if I can't update ********, I promise I will attempt to update at my grandma's house when no one's looking, and if I can't even do that, I'll update the minute I get home! But if I get enough reviews I might change that to the second I see a computer. **

**And remember, 50 reviews means a sequel!**


	5. Love, Fluff, and All That Stuff

**I'M BACK! Love me! Did you all miss me? I missed you, and I couldn't help but read your reviews over and over again and thinking how thoughtful they were! Yes, I had a computer over there, but I couldn't update because they'd get suspicious and would wonder why I'm typing a storm over here. Plus I'd have to save a copy of chapter 5 on their computer, so they'd be bound to read it sooner or later! But thanks for your patience, really. You all rock! In fact, all my reviewers get my mom's famous peanut-butter-oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies!**

**But maybe I should let my guest speaker do the thanking for me while I'm so busy writing chapter 5. What guest speaker, you ask? Well, someone owes me a favor, and I thought you all might like to have her respond to reviews instead of plain old me for once. So all the way from the Great Salt Lake, here she is, Rina! (What Rina says will be marked with quotes, and roughdiamond5 will be plain.)**

"**Hi, fanfic readers! I'd just like to take a sec to say that I'm glad to be here. This is amazing, to have you all here reading my story! Well, technically this is roughdiamond5's story, I lost my membership for…..er, maybe you don't want to know. Fine, I'll tell you. I made fun of the president of fanfiction. There, ya happy? But roughdiamond5 was nice enough to document my adventures with Max, because I thought you all ought to know what was going on, but I could only tell you through fanfiction, and they're still kinda mad at me…..Well, let's get to those review responses!"**

"**Okay, first we have one for DarkBlade98: Don't go on that killing spree! She's updating as fast as she can! In fact, the noise from how fast she's typing is really hurting my ears, hold on, I need to close the door… but anyways, DarkBlade98, don't even touch those hedge clippers, you'll get your update in no time."**

"**For ghj1, we really appreciate the plot comment! Roughdiamond5 was really exited that one of her fantasies was going to be real. I mean, the night she imagined the plot and me, it actually happened! Of course, nothing can happen until she updates (hint to roughdiamond5), so we're all waiting to see what will happen next!"**

"**Maximumlovr, yeah, I guess it was kinda cute, but roughdiamond5 (I'm gonna call her 5 for now, I'm tired of calling her her full name!) softened it up to protect her ratings. She wouldn't be able to describe it anyways (she's still in training!), and you don't honestly want to know what happened!"**

"**ARM1311, 5 says she'll try to keep it up, but with the changes in the plot it might be kinda hard. And we both appreciate the comment!"**

"**Maximum Ride all the way, thanks, we think it was sweet too! Once they were under my spell it got really nice and full of fluff."**

"**Lauren, there's no way to say how much we appreciate that you read it and loved it! And, sorry, but I can't fit the HAPPY/GIDDY BUNNIES into the story, 5 already promised her brother that I'll make everyone turn into gram crackers at the end (yeah, that's gonna happen!), so the HAPPY/GIDDY BUNNIES will have to wait until the sequel!"**

"**I'll have some stupid cliché, yeah, that's kinda long for Fang, I agree, but I made him spill it all out, and he had quite a bit on his mind about Max, so I just made him say everything. Sorry for the confusion!"**

"**And Issythewriter, 5 has a special hug for you! You've been so nice about the entire story! And yes, I suppose Max and Fang don't normally go so fast when admitting their feelings, but it would probably make the whole night to make them admit it, and I think they wanted more time to kiss, so I sped things up just a bit. I was just tired and wanted to go to bed…..although I seemed to get pretty awake when Ig held my… oh no, I'm thinking about it again! Bad Rina, bad Rina, you should know! Don't ever, EVER-"**

**Rina, why are you hitting yourself on the head with a Sock-Em-Bop-Em?**

"**Hey, 5, you're back! What took you so short?"**

**Well, this chapter is kinda short, and I typed so fast, so I finished early. Can I help finish announcements before I post?**

"**Uh, yeah, sure. Here's the paper."**

**Thanks. And so, readers and reviewers, we would like to announce one more thing before I post this. I would like to personally congratulate Issythewriter, DarkBlade98, and Maximumride4ever for correctly guessing the possibility that will come up in this chapter. Hey Rina?**

"**Yeah?"**

**Do you want to tell us what the possibility in the chapter is? (whispers to reviewers) Let's watch how red her face gets.**

"**Possibility? What possibility?"**

**You know which one. This is chapter 5, remember? I'll give you a hint. It has to do with you and…..**

"**NO! I'll never say it! They just have a hunch! Angel could only read my mind twice, she never caught anything! I would never! You can't prove anything! You won't! You don't have the guts to say it!"**

**I have the guts to say it, but I'll just post it instead. Here's chapter 5, people!**

"**No, don't show them, they'll laugh at me! Give me that paper! You can't show them that, it's private!"**

**Freedom of the press, Rina! Read the bill of rights and weep! And before I forget, I don't own Max, just Rina and the plot!**

"**You don't own me, the flock does! Gimme that!"**

**Don't you mean IGGY owns you? Oh, you're so glad he pressed the play button instead of another flock member! You spied on him more than anyone! And I think I recall you poofing to where no one could see you and spied on him in person! Here's chapter 5, and Rina, don't kill me, I own you, and if you kill me the readers will never get the ending!**

"**Kill you? I'll kill you in unimaginable ways, I'll-"**

**Chapter 5: Love, Fluff, and All That Stuff**

**POV Rina**

"Rina….Rina, wake up!"

"Huh?" I was still asleep, and I didn't want to open my eyes. Why would they need me now?

"Wake up, Rina! It's Iggy. I need to tell you something."

"Ugh, can't it-" Wait. IGGY? I bolted out of bed, poofed into some jeans, and transported myself right next to where Iggy was. Only it wasn't Iggy. It was Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge snickering at my alertness and trying not to wake the older kids.

"Pay up, Nudge, I told you she'd be out in under 5 seconds after Gazzy mentioned Iggy!" Nudge passed a dollar to a grinning Angel.

"And here's your candy bar, Gazzy. Thanks for the favor." Said Angel.

"Anytime. Anything for chocolate!" And with that Gazzy went to bed.

"Look, what do you want? You just embarrassed me and made me loose sleep, so this better be good." I said.

"Walk with us. We need some girl talk." Nudge said as we walked towards the trees. I wasn't sure whether to be flattered that they already considered me to be one of them of curious as to what they wanted to "girl talk" about. And what fun would it be if I looked to the future to find out? So I just followed them until they stopped a good distance away from the camp. Then the girls turned to face me with identical stares, theirs arms folded across their chests.

"Rina, we think there's something important that we know, and you need to know too." Angel started. I nodded to encourage them.

"But first we need to know; what do you think of boys?" Nudge asked. I was taken aback, but then I collected myself.

"For the most part they're okay. They're simpler, and they're funny. Why do you ask?"

"What do you think of boyfriends?"

My face darkened. "Why do you want to know? What's it to ya?"

"Just answer." Angel whispered to Nudge. Crap, I probably let my guard down. What thoughts did she pick up?

"Angel tells me you had a boyfriend before. What was he like?"

"He was a total brute! At first he was sweet and thoughtful and funny, and all the girls wanted him, and he and his girlfriend always looked so happy. And when they broke up, he chose me, out of the entire school. My friends were all so jealous, and I thought I was so lucky. But then he got inconsiderate. Took me for granted. Started avoiding me and forgetting to call. He looked at other girls more than me. I remember being so hurt when he forgot my birthday, and he said I never told him my birthday, but I told him seven times after we were together! And then football season rolled along and he watched endless games with his buddies. And every time I made it look like I was going to leave, he would apologize and kiss me. I never felt anything from them, but I stayed anyways. One time he promised to make it up to me by taking me out to dinner, but on that night there was a game, and guess what he picked? The game. We fought, and I left with a heart broken so many times. I never saw him again. But I still curse by his name." I was practically spitting my words out now, but then I remembered that there were actual people listening. "But that was my only boyfriend. I vowed to never have another. But why are you asking me all this? And don't answer with another question. I'm sick of that already. I want to know what's going on. Why are you asking me?"

"Wow, Rina. I'm sorry. And I know this is all confusing. We didn't mean to bring up all those feelings." Angel said.

"It's okay. Now you know. But why did you bring them up?"

"This is going to be really frustrating, but we're going to ask you one more question before we get to the point. Okay?"

I groaned. "Fine. Just ask."

"What do you think of Iggy?"

I felt a blush similar to what Max looked like when I mentioned Fax. What did I think of Iggy? He was nice, certainly, and thoughtful, I mean, he knows that genies are people too! And he puts up with me, which is certainly something. And then a memory came to me of when he held my hand when he heard I was crying. Butterflies leaked into my stomach, my blush deepened, and Angel giggled and whispered to Nudge. Oh, crap, defenses are down again. Please don't use this against me, please don't use this against me!

"You like him, don't you?" Nudge had a sly tone.

"No. I learned my lesson with my last boyfriend. He's just a nice guy, that's all." I argued.

"Don't worry, Rina, you don't need to deny it." Angel said.

"What makes you think I'm denying anything?" But a little hope got into me. What did she mean?

"The entire point of these questions is that Iggy might have a crush on you too. We just had to be sure you liked him back."

I felt like the forest was spinning around me. Iggy likes me? No, that's impossible, he couldn't! How could any guys possibly like me? What does he like specifically? That is, if he liked me. How could he? "But..but…how do you know?" I stammered, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer.

"I read his mind. He likes your laugh and your humor. Plus he thought it was thoughtful how you showed him images and told him what was going on without him having to ask. And he likes what you're doing, how you're granting wishes and giving us all the wishes we need. It's kind of cute, actually. He likes to replay thoughts of conversations he's had with you." Could Angel be true? Did he really think all that?

"But…but….but…." I seriously needed to stop with the stammering. "But I thought he might like Nudge! Or that Tess girl he met at school!"

"Me? Nah, why would he? And that Tess girl just might have needed someone to talk to. You know, be nice to the blind kid." I still couldn't accept all this. Did he really? Why didn't I notice before? I think I needed more proof.

"How are you sure?"

"He's never acted happier. He does this weird kind of walk. Plus Angel tells me his thoughts are getting happier and happier." Nudge informed me.

"He can't stop thinking about you!" Angel added.

I was speechless. How does this happen? How can a boy like him fall for a girl like me? But then again no one ever thought there would be such a thing as genies and winged kids being chased by mad scientists that want to perform painful experiments on innocent children. But this feels like when my old boyfriend asked me to be his girlfriend. I couldn't believe it.

Maybe this is different. I've known him for his whole life, and I've met him in person, and I know he's a great guy! And he seems to like me well enough. I mean, he doesn't want to kill me whenever I talk about myself all the time, and he seems to actually like having me around, now that I think about it. But still, how can he like me? And what do Nudge and Angel expect me to do about it? Go up and say "I like you, I know you like me, and we should be boyfriend and girlfriend"? It doesn't work like that.

"Rina, just think about it. We just thought you ought to know. You'll know what to do when the time comes." Angel said. And then they left, leaving me alone in a forest to think about Iggy.

**POV Iggy (this is at the same time as the girls talking in the forest)**

I was kicked awake by Gazzy at who-knows-what-time at night. "Ig, wake up, we need to talk."

"WhadayawanImsleepinere." I muttered. **(a/n translation: What do you want? I'm sleeping here!)**

"I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait?"

Gazzy sighed. Then he said "Rina, what are you doing here?"

"I have something for Iggy." She responded. "I think he'll like it."

I sat straight up, eyes wide open. But all I heard was Max and Fang sleeping next to each other and Gazzy cracking up.

"You should have seen your face!" he whispered.

I threw my pillow at him. "What do you want at this time of night?"

"Need to talk to ya about Rina." I blushed. What did he want to say about her?

"Look, everyone knows you like her. It's kinda obvious. So do something about it!"

"When did you become the ten-year-old matchmaker?"

"When Angel and Nudge- never mind. But the point is, I think she likes you back. Do something about it! Tell her! I think she'd like to hear it."

"Why should I?" I laid back down to go to sleep.

"Because she's going to live for a long time, and if you don't get her now someone else will."

"And why should I care about that?" But I did care. I could envision it now. She would be wrapped in the arms of some guy with great hair and biceps and a dazzling white smile, and she'd be laughing at something clever he just said. And I'd feel left out of something amazing. And I want so hard to not have that happen. Wait, what am I saying? I just like her as a friend, maybe part of the flock. Nothing more.

"Dude, you like her. I told you, it's obvious! You smile a lot more now, and you stop when she's away. I bet you want her to sleep here with us, judging by the look on your face when she poofed back into her iPod for the night! And I'm really sure she feels the same way!"

"You mean she feels alone, mad at the erasers and whitecoats, and sad that she's blind?"

"Not, she likes you back! She's grinning and laughing and doing stuff to make you laugh! And Angel told me she picked up some thoughts from Rina, and she thinks about you."

Could this be true? Does she really like me? Nah, she couldn't. Who would want a blind guy? She's got a zillion superpowers, and I have wings and super-developed senses and nothing else. And she's so funny!

"Prove it." I challenged.

"Sorry, can't. Angel's the mind reader. I can't provide all the evidence, but I have enough to be pretty sure."

"Oh."

"Look, I'm just telling you. It's only my opinion. You can do what you want. I'm going back to sleep." And with that he went back to sleep, which left me awake and wondering.

**A few hours later (hard to tell if you're sleeping!)**

**POV Rina**

"Rina…Rina….Rina, wake up! I need to talk to you." Ugh, again? Can't they just talk in the morning?

"Can it wait? I already talked to you, and I'm kinda sleeping!"

"No you didn't! C'mon, get up! I need to ask you something!"

"Go away, Gazzy!"

"What makes you think I'm Gazzy? It's Iggy. Can you take a walk with me?"

I looked at the screen that looks out to the flock. It was Iggy! I needed to get out here and meet him! I fell asleep in my clothes, so I just poofed out as I was.

"Let's go."

**RRRRIIIIIIIIPPPPPP**

**Rina, that's the rest of the chapter! Hey, stop tearing it more! The readers want to see what Iggy wanted to say!**

"**They never will! You showed them enough. And now that I've stopped you from showing the world most of my private moments, I'm leaving. Goodbye!"**

**Good, she's gone. I'm sorry, I have to retype the last part! But I need to be leaving too, so I'll type it later and submit it as chapter 6. But please, make my day! Send me reviews! Just tell me if you liked it or not. They'll help me to write faster, and they'll help get you the sequel! You're halfway there already, and it's only 5 chapters, so reviewreviewREVIEW! **

**Oh, and maybe this chapter was a bit longer than I anticipated. But that's what you get for being so nice to me!**


	6. Fly With Me

**Woohoo! Seven reviews! I'm so happy! But ignore the crazy randomness loving author. I've got serious problems, right? Don't answer that.**

**Sorry to all my faithful readers and reviewers, but I can't thank you in person today. I need a lot of time to type the extra long chapter 6, and Rina's still mad at me for posting her "private thoughts and feelings", and anyone else would think I'm crazy for asking them to respond to my reviewers, and I was trying to get someone from the flock to respond, but they're kinda busy and Iggy's kinda mad too, so I'm going to save time and just give you chapter 6. I'm just all rambled out today! But maybe I can muster up just a bit to make you all happy, so you better be grateful!**

**Disclaimer: yeah, yeah, I don't need to do it, but I like to! So here goes. I own Rina, what happens in the story, my iPod (which is mad at me at the moment and won't charge or play music), my camera, any food I've ever eaten (what, you own my food? You want it back? You'll have to wait a little for my next bathroom trip and you'll have to visit the sewers, but sure, you can have it back! Didn't think so.), and eventually I'm going to get my own laptop so I don't have to use the family laptop and update under the cover of darkness, I can just use my own laptop! But I need to find a good one. Any suggestions? Like models or brands or any laptops?**

**Good news: the randomness is back! It was the disclaimer that did it! Here's chapter 6!**

**Chapter 6: Fly With Me (I'm so good at naming things! Not. I couldn't think of anything more discreet, sorry!)**

**POV Rina**

What did Iggy want with me? Why were we walking on the trail we used to spy on Max and Fang? Why did everyone want to talk to me tonight? Wound Max and Fang talk to me next? Why were my palms so sweaty? Why did Iggy feel so nervous? What fun would it be to read his mind and find out? Anyone want to help answer all the questions swirling in my brain?

As Iggy and I walked through the forest I tried to recall what had just happened. Gazzy pretended he was Iggy to wake me up, and Angel and Nudge took me for a walk in the forest. Was it just me, or were Iggy's eyes bluer than usual? No, bad Rina! Stay on topic! After uncovering some painful boyfriend memories, the girls told me that Iggy liked me. Or was love the word? I glanced at Iggy. Who else would walk with me in a forest at night if he just liked me a little more than usual? No, Rina, he just likes you as a friend! So I wasn't really convinced that he might like me more than usual. But maybe I felt a little hope. Their evidence did sound just a little convincing. But then they took me to bed, and I looked at Iggy a little longer than usual before I poofed back. And while I was looking at me, Angel sent me a thought: "Don't worry, Rina, he does. You'll see."

Then sometime later Iggy woke me up. I thought he was Gazzy at first, based on past experiences. But I poofed out two seconds and three milliseconds after I realized it was really him. Not that anyone was counting. And now confusion, hope, and curiousness chased each other around my head, cheered on by memories of Angel and Nudge telling me that Iggy liked me and Iggy smiling at me and laughing. Nothing made sense.

**POV Iggy**

I had no clue what I was doing. Well, maybe I did know what I was doing a little. I just had to take her to where Max and Fang kissed, ask her my question, and see what happened from there. I followed my instincts as we walked. I could feel Rina's tension. She had no clue what was going on. Let's hope it stayed that way.

As we walked, I reflected on what had happened. Gazzy pretended Rina was there to get me up, and then he said I should do something about Rina. He thought I love her or something. But maybe I do. She's so smart and funny….but how could she like me back? Gazzy said he had a hunch, but I still would have felt better if Angel were there to confirm him. I knew Angel and Nudge were gone during the conversation, but sleepy and disbelieving as I was, I ignored the fact. But then it all came back to me when I was trying to sleep, and Angel, Nudge, and Rina, of all people, tiptoed into the camp. I pretended to sleep. Maybe they would add some final word that could tell me what they were doing out there. But all I did was feel three pairs of eyes on me. One stared a little longer before she left.

I couldn't sleep after that. So I developed a plan. I woke up Rina, but it took some encouragement. She thought I was Gazzy, for some reason, but she was out two seconds and three milliseconds after I told her it was really me. Not that anyone was counting. And now we were in this forest, very close to the rock that Max and Fang sat on earlier tonight.

"Iggy?"

"Hm?"

"What are we doing here?"

Ignoring her question, I said "Would you like to sit down?" I thought, _Don't worry, you'll see in a second._

"Uh, sure." She sounded pretty insecure. I hated hearing her like that. I better make this quick.

"Rina, I think you're wondering why I brought you here."

"Uh, yeah," she said in a "Duh, I'm not and idiot" tone. I mentally slapped myself on the forehead. Not a good way to start a speech.

'Well, I brought you here to ask you something."

"What?" Good, she was interested.

"Uh, would you give me my eyesight back?"

There. I said it. She was stunned. I almost thought I blew it, that she would never speak to me again, that I built all this tension just for a request. Then I heard her grin.

"I though you would never ask!" She exclaimed. "But you have to say the magic words!"

"Fine. Rina, I wish you would restore my vision."

"There we go! Just a sec." She wrapped a cloth (which she probably conjured on the spot) around my eyes.

"Is this going to help with my eyesight?"

"No, I'm blindfolding you."

"WHAT? Why?"

"Well, your eyes haven't seen for years, so being able to all of a sudden might hurt them. Plus, I want to know what you want to see first."

"What I want to see first?" The first part I could believe, but why should I see a specific thing first?

"Yeah, well, do you really want to see a dirty ground or a bunch of trees first after years of not seeing at all? So is there anything you want to see first? There's a great view of the Great Salt Lake from here, you could see that, or I could go kick Gazzy awake if you want to see him, or you could see Nudge first because I always thought you might like her-"

I stopped her. "Okay, you have a point about the seeing thing. I think I know what I want to see first, though."

"Well, what?"

"You."

"Huh?"

"You. I want to see you first."

I could feel her blushing, and it sounded in her voice. "Me? Why?"

"Well, uh…." Maybe I made a mistake. How was I going to explain this? "Well, I, uh, want to see the face that helped us through so much. I mean, you got Max and Fang together for us-"

"Yeah, but you were the control, I just did the action!"

"Still, you did a lot. You gave us supplies and told us where to go. I want to see the face that did all that for us." Did that sound convincing enough? I mean, it wasn't my real reason, but it would have to do.

"Well, okay…" I felt some tingling with my eyes, and I tried keeping them closed, even thought the darkness got just a little lighter. I could feel Rina's slightly trembling hands untying the blindfold. I fluttered my eyes open, and…..

My breath was taken away. I couldn't believe this was the face that helped us, and made us laugh, and got Max and Fang together. It was like the face in that vision Rina sent me, only a hundred times better. She was beautiful! She had a round face, framed by her bangs. Her hair was beneath her shoulders, and it was mousy brown, but the red highlights were the perfect touch to make them stand out. Her cheeks were slender, pale, and with a blend of freckles and acne, but pretty none the less. Her nose was straight, small, and covered in freckles. Her lips were pale pink, smiling, and they looked soft. But the first thing I saw was her eyes. They were large, and the deepest blue I've ever seen. And I don't know how it happened, but there was some green and brown mixed in there. They were the kind that I could look in for the rest of my life and never loose interest.

She giggled. "Ig, why are you staring at me like that? You look like you've never seen a girl in your life!"

And at that moment, two things became perfectly clear. The first thing was that Rina was the girl from my dream. Her giggle was the exact same as that girl, her words were words that the girl would say, her voice was a perfect match, their bodies would be the same, and they both had that way of making you think about nothing but them. Rina was the girl that was haunting me day and night without my ever knowing it was her.

And the second thing that became perfectly clear was that I loved her. Just one look at those eyes and I knew. I couldn't deny it, not with those eyes staring at me. I loved her laughter, her jokes, her powers, her smile, her voice, her body, everything about her. And Gazzy was right, I needed to do something about it before someone else did.

"Uh, earth to Iggy, are you there, Iggy?"

I regained speech. "Oh, sorry. I was just, well, I haven't seen in a long time. I'll probably stare for a while now."

"I understand." She paused. Then she said "Well, I'll just leave you to your seeing, I need to catch up on sleep. Anything else before I go?" Another pause. She must have taken my silence as a queue to leave, when I was really deep in thought. She turned, but I grabbed her arm.

"Rina, I've been thinking."

"Yes?" Was that hope I just saw in her eyes, or was it just interest?

"This is going to sound very weird to you…" Maybe I should stall, or better yet, not ask her at all.

"Try me." She challenged. Good, now I know she's desperate.

I opened my mouth to answer.

**POV Rina (A/N: I'm so evil, aren't I?)**

"Yes?" I couldn't help it. I got hopeful. I knew my expectations would most likely be lowered, that all he wanted was a Nudge clone to gape at or a midnight snack or something. But still, on the off chance that it wasn't….no, that probably wouldn't happen. I tried to change my look to a look of curiosity and interest.

"This is going to sound very weird to you…"

"Try me." I challenged. Get to the point, please!

He opened his mouth to answer. "Would you like to fly over the lake with me? You know, to celebrate my vision?" he added in hastily.

Did he just say what I think he said? Did he just ask me to fly? On the lake? _With him? _I froze. My breathing got shallow. I thought I was going to pass out. Iggy just asked me to be alone with him! Was this a sign? Did he like me? Well, he must like me in some measure if he wants to spend time with me, but does he love me? Is this just a trick? Did someone dare him? Why did he ask me? Only one way to find out.

"Rina, are you alright?" Iggy was looking at me with concern.

I snapped out of it. "I'd love to." I said with a smile.

Well, you'd have thought I just gave him the best birthday present in the world. His face split into this huge grin I don't think I've seen before. "Great! Let's go."

I grew my white wings again, and after Iggy gaped at them, he said "Uh, those won't be necessary."

"Huh? Why not?"

"You said you can fly without wings, right?" I nodded "Well, I want to see you do it, now that I actually can."

"Fine." I sucked them back in.

He gestured towards the cliff. "Ladies first."

I refused. "Age before beauty." I keep forgetting that I look thirteen, so he may be older than me by a year, but I'm really 1,300 years old. But Iggy doesn't need to know that.

"I insist."

I shrugged. "Your celebration." Then I ran and took a flying leap off the cliff. To Iggy's surprise, I didn't fall, supported by an unseen force. Then he joined me in the air, and we drifted over the water. After a few minutes of silence, Iggy broke it.

"Thanks for giving me my vision back."

"It was no problem, really. I just waved my hands and it was done."

"No, it was a big problem. If you weren't there, I would never have gotten my vision back, and then where would I be?"

"Well, not here, certainly."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be here to fly with a genie while looking over a lake at the moon."

"Yeah," I sighed dreamily. I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but it satisfied Iggy well enough, and we turned to look at the view. It was beautiful! There were no boats or camps or people (I made sure of that!), just the salty-smelling water and the moon. It looked huge tonight, and it added to the effect. Here I was, flying with THE Iggy Griffiths, one of my favorite characters ever, over a miniature ocean with an incredible moon.

"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" I cooed.

"Yeah, it is." I looked over to Iggy, but he wasn't staring at the water or the moon or the dark coast. He was staring at me. I didn't know how to feel. So I tried to ignore it.

"You know, this is the most amazing moon I've ever seen." I tried to start a conversation.

"Really? How many times have you seen it?"

"Well, it depends if you mean the one that's the thing in the sky or the one with the cheeks." That got him laughing. Was it really that funny?

But while he was laughing, it hit me. I love Iggy. I don't know how it happened, but I do. He's so smart, and sensitive, and funny, and helpful, and sarcastic, and a great listener. He's handsome, and I love his smile, his sarcasm, his humor, his wings, his power, his strength, his sense of humor, his cooking, his everything! No one was as incredibly, mind-blowingly wonderful as him. I would do anything just to make him laugh, and I'd do more to make him love me too.

"Well, Rina?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I must have been spacing out."

"Yeah, you kinda stared at me and you had a huge grin on your face."

"Oh. My bad. Sorry if I scared you."

"You didn't. Maybe we should head back."

We swooped the other way and headed back to camp in silence. Did Iggy love me as much as I loved him? I guess I might as well read his mind to find out. Just a peek to satisfy me. So I looked, and the first thing I heard was "_Wow, her hair looks so beautiful in the moonlight. But should I tell her?"_

I almost gasped. Did I hear right? Does this mean he's just trying to pay me a compliment, or does it mean more? Boys can be so complicated when it comes to girls.

We landed on the cliff again. Then we just stood in silence until I broke the ice.

"Well, we should get back to camp and pretend to sleep."

"Yeah."

"I had a great time tonight, Ig."

"Me too." He probably meant it, too.

Then I did something so stupid I'll look on it for years to come as the mistake of a lifetime. I gave Iggy the smallest kiss on the cheek.

**POV Iggy**

"I had a great time tonight, Ig." Really? Me too. I only found out that I love you and regained my eyesight, but it's still been great.

"Me too." I said with as much sincerity as I possibly could without sounding like the only reason I liked it was because she was there. The staring at her during our flight probably gave away way too much already.

And then she did something so stupendous I'll look on it years from now and wonder why she did it. She gave me a kiss on the cheek. Tall as she was, she had to reach for me to kiss me. Even though it was the smallest kiss you could possibly make, she still did it.

After a second, she pulled away. Her cheeks were so red I could fry eggs on it, and I put my hand on my own cheek, the one she kissed, as if I could still feel it there. She muttered something about a stupid mistake, and then she ran into the forest again before I could even tell her I liked it.

**POV Rina**

After about a second I pulled away. My blush was blushing, and Iggy stood there dumb-founded as he touched the spot where I kissed it. He looked so shocked that I would do that. I bet he felt so awkward that he would never speak to me again. That's certainly how I felt. I should have thought it through, not acted without thinking!

"Sorry, this was a stupid mistake." I mumbled. And then I ran into the forest so he couldn't see my tears. How could I be so stupid? To do something as dim-witted as kissing Iggy was the most brainless thing I had ever done! I kept running and running, oblivious to everything around me, which might explain why I ran into so many trees. But the physical pain never measured up to the emotional kind. I think I was bleeding, but I could always heal later. Not like my heart could.

But then I felt a hand on my wrist, a hand with such a powerful grip that my wrist was going to break if he gripped it any harder. I tried to run, but with no effect. So I resorted to looking down, but another soft hand took my chin and made me look up to see Iggy staring down at me.

"Let me go." I said.

"No." Jeez, how can he get from cute to stubborn so fast?

"Let me go!" I tried pulling my hand out, but he only tightened his grip. Okay, _now_ he was about to break it.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to know why you did that."

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because." I made the mistake of looking in his eyes. Soft, yet powerful. I had to tell him.

"Because I thought I should."

"Why did you think you should?"

"Because I wanted to."

"Why did you want to?"

"Because I love you." There. I said it. Can't take it back now!

He paused for a moment. "I love you too." And then he kissed me.

Wow. That was amazing. Maybe that first kiss _wasn't _a mistake.

**Woohoo! They're together! Can you believe it? I can, I'm the author! But can you? But THIS IS NOT THE END! Every story has to have a conflict, and the conflict shows up next chapter. So stay tuned, and review if you want to see what's wrong! This will help towards the sequel, blah-blah-blah you know this all already!**

**And also, this is the longest chapter ever! I love you all that much, I just have to give you the longest yet. You're all happy now, right?**


	7. Seeing

**Eight reviews in one day, oh, you all make me feel so happy! I'm getting weird looks because I'm always smiling way too big and bouncing, and it's you guys who make me do that! I'm so glad you all like this story so far! I just hope you like it after this chapter though, things get kinda bad.**

**But because I like to stall so much, I'm going to thank the reviewers really quick. So IssytheWriter, Lauren, DarkBlade98, gazzyrules9878, Maximum Ride all the way, maximumride4ever, ghj1, and maximumlovr, you all rock! You all get a hug from me, a hug from Max or Rina if you're a boy (but don't get too attached), a hug from Fang or Iggy if you're a girl (whom Rina will make hug back, although don't get too attached), my mom's famous peanut-butter-oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies, and a chance to fly with the flock (wings provided by Rina)! But I'll just stop thanking now. I don't want to stall for that long!**

**Oh, wait, one more thing: you guys are so close to getting your sequel that it scares me. Nine more reviews to go, people!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Max or the flock or the whole "save the world" mission, I just own the plot and Rina, so don't steal Rina, or she will get the flock and punch your lights out before she comes back to little old me to give her something else to do. Did that make any sense? Didn't think so.**

**And now for chapter 7! I guess this is ironic because seven is supposed to be lucky, but what happens is not lucky at all. I mean, everyone gets so upset and- oh, wait, you want to see for yourself, right? Sorry. Here's chapter 7!**

**Chapter 7: Seeing (who else can think of a better title that sounds better yet doesn't give much away? Not me, that's who!)**

**POV Rina**

After Iggy and I kissed (I still can't believe it happened!) we walked back to camp hand in hand. Iggy was excited to get there in a hurry because then he could actually look at the flock, even if they were sleeping. While we walked, we developed a plan to announce that we were together.

"Okay, I don't want to directly announce that we're…well, you know…"

"Together?" I finished.

"Yeah. So how about we sleep next to each other on the ground to start. What can we do with that?" Iggy suggested.

"How about we wake up and say I had a bad dream?"

"Yeah, that might work. And then we can tell Angel in our minds that she can announce what we really did."

"That's brilliant, Ig! Perfect!"

"It's been known to happen." I could tell he was pleased.

When we arrived, it was barely dawn. I had enhanced Iggy's vision when I fixed it so he could see better in the dark (like those evil scientists had failed to accomplish and had made him blind in the first place), so he got a good long look at the flock, even with the tiniest hint of light. I looked in his mind for the quickest moment, and he was really glad to see the flock after feeling and hearing them for so long. But why shouldn't he be? If I were in his shoes I would be jumping up and down for joy.

Then we lay down next to each other (once again, can't believe its happening!) to try and get some sleep. It seemed like we had only just lain down when the flock was waking us up with their constant stares. Max was the first to speak.

"Uh, Rina, what are you doingdown there with Iggy?"

"Huh? Oh, bad dream. Right, Ig?"

"Huhwhadyawantrynasleepere." he muttered. **(A/N Translation: Huh? What do you want? Trying to sleep here!) **Then he saw everyone staring at us. "Oh, yeah, bad dream."

"Well, why did you let her sleep next to you?" Dang, she had us cornered already!

I looked at Iggy and asked in my mind. "Tell Angel?"

"I'm on it." He responded. He then stared intensely at Angel, whose expression changed from confused to thrilled.

"Well?" Max demanded. Gee, not a morning person, huh?

"Max, they're not telling the truth." Angel piped up. She looked like she could barely contain her glee.

"What is the truth, then, sweetie?"

She took a deep breath before she continued. "Me and Nudge took Rina out last night and told her that Iggy liked her and she should do something about it and Gazzy told Iggy that Rina liked him and he should do something about it and then Iggy got a sort of plan and woke up Rina and took her for a walk in the forest to the ledge where you and Fang kissed and he asked Rina to give him back his eyesight so-" another deep breath "-she asked him what he wanted to see first and he chose Rina and Rina gave Iggy his sight back and when Iggy saw Rina and he figured out that he loved her and he asked her if she wanted to fly across the lake with him and she said yes and during the flight she made Iggy laugh and while he was laughing she figured out that she loved him back so-" another deep breath. "-they landed on the cliff and they tried making small talk and then Rina kissed Iggy on the cheek and Iggy was so shocked he didn't speak and Rina took it that he didn't feel the same way so she ran into the forest so then Iggy couldn't see her cry, but Iggy chased after her and forced her to tell him why she ran and-" another deep breath. She's going to pass out if she does this anymore! "-she told him that she loved him and he told her that he loved her back and then they kissed on the lips for like ten minutes and then they went back to camp and told me to tell you what happened so then they wouldn't have to announce that they were together themselves."

Wow. I think Nudge has a replacement. Then again, Nudge didn't know what happened, so Angel the mind reader had to explain everything, and there was quite a bit to explain. But how did she find out that stuff I thought? Oh, wait, my defenses were down. I gotta work on that.

The flock was stunned speechless. I think the moment of silence lasted maybe fifteen minutes. Angel had a huge grin on her face, Nudge and Gazzy had their mouths open wide enough to fit Antarctica inside them, Max's eyes were bulging out of her skull, Fang's eyes were widened by about a centimeter, which was Fang for "I'm so shocked I'm going to collapse", and Iggy and I had small smiles on our faces while we waited very patiently for their reaction.

Then Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy came over and hugged us and told us that they knew it would happen eventually and they were so glad we were together and so amazed that it happened so fast. Max was grinning at the scene, and even Fang managed to get through the little kids and give Iggy a pat on the back.

"Knew it would happen sometime, man."

I think they took it well.

**Maybe an hour later (everyone was eating breakfast and talking about me and Iggy, so it was hard to tell)**

"Aww, Max, do we have to go so soon?" Gazzy complained.

We were packing camp, but everyone seemed reluctant to leave. I have no clue what caused it, but they didn't want to go to Seattle today. Maybe it was that we were on a mini vacation, and we had to leave after one day.

"And what do you suggest we do if we stay here? It's not like we can go swimming or hike or anything. And we have to go to Seattle and spy on Itex!!"

"Well, we could use some of our wishes or see Rina's superpowers." Angel suggested.

"That is, if it's okay with Rina." Iggy added. He's so sensitive! Knowing that genies are people too, oh, that's so sweet!

"It's perfectly fine with me." I said. The kids cheered. "Is it okay with Max, though?"

"Well, it would be interesting, but-"

"Can I have a word?" Why was Fang getting involved? Oh well, he _is _second in command, he deserves to have an opinion.

"Fine." They walked into the forest. The kids were going to be really bored, so I said "Hey, who want to see what they're talking about?"

"How can you do that?" Gazzy asked.

"Like this." I produced a T.V on a stand with Fang and Max on it. Everyone sat in front of it to watch.

Fang and Max ventured a little more into the forest, and then Fang stopped Max in her tracks. "I think we should stay one more day."

Max was taken by surprise, and so were we. "How come?"

"Vacation. They deserve one. Keeps them happy. Lets them rest. And Rina. She can give us anything. Freeze time, show off for the kids, provide food. And we need to see what use she can be to us. We need to figure her out." Everyone turned to stare at me.

"I'm not that complicated, am I?" I asked.

"Well you don't exactly come with an instruction book." Nudge commented. Then Max and Fang started talking again.

"Well, yeah, but still, how do we know we're doing the right thing by taking a day off? Rina will be with us for the rest of our lives, and they might think that because she's there we can take a day off any time we like!

"You're just going to have to trust me. We could all use a break. They need a break. They can't fly across the U.S, spy on Itex's evil meeting, fly to wherever it is you're going to save the world, and do whatever they have to do to help you save it. We don't know what's out there, and we don't know when we're going to get a break next. Let them rest, then they'll be more able and willing to do whatever they have to." What a chatterbox. Only with Max! But he's got my vote.

"Fine." At that moment the little kids started cheering, but I shushed them.

"Now, what do we say when Max finds out that we already know we're staying?" I asked them in a motherly tone, like the kind you hear when moms remind their toddlers to say please or thank you.

"We say that Rina told us." Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel chorused.

"And do we mention that we were watching them talk on a T.V set?"

"Nope!"

"Very good! I have you trained well."

"You didn't train them at all!" Iggy pointed out.

"I know, but it's so nice to see them use common sense, especially since no one does these days." I sent him a somewhat sheepish grin, and he blushed.

"So true. But do I use enough common sense?"

"I think you're perfect." He blushed even more. We grinned and gazed into each others eyes for who-know-how-long.

Uh, lovebirds? Nudge asked.

"Yeah?" I was still kinda dazed from looking into Iggy's perfect eyes and imagining what we would be doing, were there no underage children around, but I still managed to respond.

"Max and Fang will be here in about two minutes, so Rina, stop staring at your boyfriend and get the T.V out of here!"

"Yeah, Iggy, shouldn't you be doing the dishes or unpacking or something?" Gazzy added.

"Oh, sure, just because the blind guy got his vision back he's not allowed to look at his beautiful girlfriend!" And that, folks, is why Iggy gets my vote for greatest person in the world. Sarcasm, compliments, and humor all in one sentence! My cheeks turned a deep red, and I suddenly became fascinated in making the T.V disappear. Gazzy, on the other hand, looked rather disgusted, but did his eyes flicker to Nudge for a second? I'll have to look into that later. But at that moment Max and Fang emerged from the trees.

"We're back! And the verdict is that we're going to stay one more day." Max's announcement was greeted by cheers that were only half as enthusiastic as when they first heard the news, but it was still enough to make Max content.

"So what do we do first?" Max inquired.

"I wanna see Rina's powers!" Gazzy blurted out.

"Fine. What do you want to see?" I asked.

"How about super strength?"

I walked over to the nearest tree, and in two seconds, it was ripped out of its' roots and balanced in my right hand. I tossed it to my left hand and back in a little game of catch. It was hard getting a good grip, but easy to do the actual holding and tossing, plus you should have seen the looks on their faces! And their minds were rather interesting, too. Everyone was basically thinking along the lines of "whoa," except for Max, who was also thinking "She better plant that tree back in before someone else sees."

"Well, Max, I think I'll do just that!" I responded to her thoughts. Everyone glanced at Max before turning to see what I was talking about. I placed the tree back in the whole where it used to be, and in maybe three seconds flowers, vines, grass, and dirt covered the roots. I let go, and everyone shielded themselves with their arms, as if expecting for it to fall, but apparently they didn't know me that well, because the tree stayed firmly in place.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Nudge shouted "Now do laser vision!"

I ended up showing them every power anyone's ever thought of. It was interesting to see their minds and faces, but for the most part I was seriously bored. I did get a hoot when Iggy asked if I had X-ray vision. To demonstrate, I stared at Max's stomach for a second, looked shocked, and asked what she would name him and when she was going to tell Fang. Her face got as red as a lobster, and Fang's was redder, and it only got worse when I started laughing like a lunatic fresh from the nut house. Everyone but Max and Fang joined in with the laughter, and when they tried to attack me, I held out my hands, and they froze- _literally._ The others stared at the icicles dripping off of Max and Fang's outstretched arms, and I said "And that, everyone, is the power to freeze."

**POV Iggy**

After Rina thawed Max and Fang with heat vision, she continued her display of powers, which included new clothes for everyone, a visit to a chocolate factory (invisible, of course), and a tidal wave of hot dogs surfing through the forest (I don't know _what _Gazzy was thinking on that one). It was nice seeing the looks on their faces (well, actually, being able to see their faces at all was nice), and she even smiled at me a few times during her demonstration, which almost made me melt along with her when she turned into a brown puddle of mud. And then finally Nudge suggested a brilliant idea.

"Hey, how about we go to the future and see what it's like over there!"

"Yeah, I want to see it too!" Angel agreed.

"I'm all for it." I said and glanced towards Rina. Would we be together in the future? I couldn't wait to find out.

"Can we, Max?" Gazzy asked. Everyone but me, Rina, and Fang gave Max the Bambi eyes, which weren't really necessary, because she already said yes.

Rina produced a swirling portal. "Okay, everyone, fly in there, that's about a hundred feet off the ground in the future, so be ready to flap!" Angel flew in first, followed by Nudge, Gazzy, Max, and Fang. I waited for Rina to fly in first before I followed.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Did that used to be the Great Salt Lake? It looked more like the Tiny Salt Water Droplet. There was hardly any sunlight due to the dark smoke clouds covering the sky, and the ground didn't look too safe either, covered with fires and the remains of life. My lungs prevented me from seeing more. I was coughing and hacking like crazy, my eyes hurt from the smog, and from the sounds of it, everyone but Rina was coughing. Then I breathed clearly, and felt what seemed to be a bubble over my head. I looked around to see everyone but Rina wearing clear bubbles on their heads. I flew over to Rina and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"I don't need to breathe, Iggy." She turned to face me. "Semi-immortal and immortal creatures never need to breathe." It was then that I saw a tear trickle from her cheek. I wiped it with my finger.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, my voice muffled by the bubble.

"I can't hear any life. No humans, no animals, no plants, no life of any kind. Only smoke and fire all over the entire world."

It couldn't be. It could never happen! "What about cities?" I pressed. "There has to be someone here!"

"No, there is no one, and no cities, either. Only the remains of buildings, and skeletons of the people that were trying to run away."

"Run away from what?" Angel asked. By now the entire flock was circled around Rina, listening to what had happened.

"Itex. They were killing everyone by any means necessary. Chasing after them in the streets with guns and knives. Cutting off their food and water supply. Tracking them down if they tried to hide. They decided at that meeting I told you about, the one in Seattle. No one was worthy to live. All the people who had useful skills were sick or weak in some way, and the ones who were in top shape had no useful skills. The scientists thought only of themselves. That _they _were the only ones worthy to live. They killed everyone else. And then greed took over and they killed each other to get more food and water for themselves." Rina was on the verge of tears now. She paused to try and stay under control. "They killed babies and toddlers. They killed all the parents and children, all the senior citizens and teenagers, all the mutants and disabled people, all the plants, all the animals. They killed _us_."

"What about you? What about all the other genies?" I probably sounded strangled when I asked that. It was all too much to take in.

"Us too. One of the scientists discovered my sister, Gina, and used her wishes to find out how to exterminate us. They killed her first." She was almost gasping, a look of so much loss in her eyes. "I was the last genie. I had to watch everyone die, my mom, my dad, my sister, my friends. There aren't even that many of us, but I was last. You all tried to protect me. But they got me anyway."

"But why would they kill genies?" Nudge asked.

"We have powers. We could do something to stop them. My sister had to use her power to stop us from doing anything about the By-Half Plan, or our killing."

"Who was the last innocent person to die?" Fang had to cut it right to the chase, didn't he?

Rina raised a trembling finger. "Max." Everyone swiveled around as fast as they could while flying to gape at Max.

"You had to watch everyone you did and didn't care about die." Rina continued. "They thought it wouldn't hurt to give you some emotional pain so you would be begging for death when it was finally your turn."

"I would never do that!" Max blurted out.

"I know. You didn't. They killed the flock last, and they killed Fang second-last. You were so full of rage at the thought of everyone being dead. You put up a brilliant fight, and you killed a few guys. I congratulate you." She sent Max a watery smile. "You just weren't good enough."

No one talked for a moment. Then Angel asked "How soon will it happen? When will this be the future?"

"December of next year."

The moment of silence was deafening. Everyone looked so sad. The little kids looked like they could cry if one more word was said, Max and Fang looked remorseful and shocked at the same time, and I don't know how I felt, but looking at Rina, I felt so upset that something could cause her that much pain. Her eyes, though watery, displayed remorse, pain, anger, rage, fear, sadness, loss, and any other feeling you could possibly experience in a situation like this. But there was one more thing in her eyes, and it was something she wasn't telling me. Something important.

"Okay, everyone, let's go back. Rina, can you make that portal again?" Max broke the silence finally. Rina produced the portal without a word. Everyone fought everyone else to get out of there. Everyone but me and Rina.

After everyone was gone, Rina grew a lily in her hand, plucked it out, and tossed it to the dried-up lake.

"I know it will burn." She turned to face me. "I just needed to do that out of respect to the people that lost their lives."

I nodded. "You first." She flew past me silently into the waiting portal. I followed to meet an unusually silent flock. They were scattered in places varying from sitting on the ground to leaning against a tree to perching on a rock. Rina plopped down on the last remaining boulder. Then she started crying.

I was the first to react. I half-ran over there and put my arms over her shoulders. All I could do was stroke her hair and make shushing noises every now and then. The rest of the flock crowded around her and tried to get her to calm down.

"I'm so sorry, Rina, it was my fault for suggesting to go to the future!" Nudge attempted to soothe her.

"No, I suggested we try out her powers!" Gazzy corrected.

"My fault." Fang grunted. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, even Rina, with her bloodshot eyes. "Convinced Max to stay one more day."

"Yeah, but I agreed." Max amended.

"Look, guys, it's no point trying to blame each other. It was my fault." Rina looked up, her eyes dried back to their amazing blue in the speed only a genie could manage. She stood and turned to face us. "I never should have brought you there. Heck, I never should have met you. It's entirely my fault that you all haven't saved the world yet. And I'm doing something about it."

"Wait, you're keeping us from saving the world? But you're giving us help and supplies, and telling us what to do!" Max said.

"No, I'm keeping you away from your destiny. I'm helping too much. You all know more than you're supposed to, and at this rate, I'm going to save the world for you! And I'll try, but I won't save the world, because I'm not the one meant to save it. So I'm leaving. I can't continue serving you."

"But…but…but don't we own you? Aren't you supposed to stay with us until we're all gone?" Nudge tried to reason.

"There are genie laws. One of the laws says that a genie can leave if he or she is in the way of the master and the greater good of the vast majority of the people. And I'm in the way of you guys and saving the world. I _can _leave, I _need _to leave because the law says so. And I can't disobey."

"But what about you? Wouldn't you miss us?" Gazzy asked.

Rina sighed. "I guess I would. That's a risk, getting attached to your owners. But I'd miss you even more if you were dead, or if I was dead. And I can't let that happen. So no matter how much I'll miss you, it's a risk I'm willing to take."

"But Rina, when will you come back? How long will you be gone? Why can't you stay?" Angel asked.

"I don't know, I don't know, and the law said so. Don't you get it? I need to leave! I'm sorry, but I love this world and everyone in it too much to stay with you and let it get killed! I'm just a distraction! If I stay here any longer, it'll be too late for you to save the world! And once you save it, well, you'll just have to find me again. We can still be together later."

"But what are the odds of you coming back?" I said. I couldn't believe this. She was _not_ going to leave me. Stupid genie laws, can't she avoid them? Could death be that bad? I didn't care, as long as Rina was with me I didn't care where we were!

"I won't lie. They're very low odds. I'm sorry. I have to do this! I'll do everything in my power to find you and be with you all once this is over, but for now…." While she was speaking, she made another iPod that seemed to be a duplicate of the original, and she changed the content so that the duplicate had all her stuff and the other was empty. She put the two iPods in her pocket and turned to us.

"Okay, who wants to say goodbye?" Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel all hugged her at once while trying to fight back their tears, and she tried to hug them back as best she could. Next, Rina pulled Max into a hug, and Max half-hugged back after a second. Rina knew Fang would never let her hug him in a million years, so they just did a quick handshake. And finally, it was time for yours truly.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." She said.

"Yeah, bye." I pulled her in for a last kiss. Thankfully, she didn't pull back. But when we stopped, I couldn't help but have my eyes be a little watery.

"There's something I want you to have." A present? I wasn't expecting one. But of course, I wasn't expecting this situation either. I watched as Rina pulled out the first iPod, the one that was just emptied, and placed it in my hand.

"I'll always be watching, so you keep that iPod. You can talk to it through video mode, and I'll get your message, but I can't guarantee that I'll respond back. Plus it has your songs in it." She kissed me on the cheek, like the first time, only sadder and sweeter.

She turned to face us. "Goodbye, guys." And with that, she rose into the air. The little kids were waving and trying not to show how sad they were. Max was looking pretty down herself, and Fang was being Fang, except he looked a little disappointed. I couldn't help it. I pulled on the bottom of her jeans as she rose.

"Don't leave us. Don't leave me."

"I have to." She pulled from my grip and rose higher and higher, until the clouds swallowed her whole. Now, being mutants with abnormal vision that could see much farther than the average human, I had to witness the entire agonizing experience much longer than usual. I think I saw a tear on her cheek just before she disappeared, and I felt one on mine, too. That was it. She was gone.

**(sniff) Oh, don't you hate when someone has to leave? It's so hard and sad, especially when they're leaving someone who loves them. But once again, folks, ****this is not the end of Our Genie, Rina****. There is more to come! And it gets pretty good, too.**

**So review for your next chapter! C'mon, you know you want to! The purple-ish button should be your best friend by now!**

**Also, you may not have noticed, but this is the new longest chapter ever! In fact, this is roughly 4,760 words. Sweet, huh? Way better than the 3,600 something words that Fly With Me was!**


	8. Blurry

**Wow, I got five reviews twelve hours after I submitted chapter 7, and I submitted it just before my bedtime, so that's not half bad! And I'm sorry some of you cried or almost cried, but it had to be done! If it's any comfort at all, I almost cried writing chapter 7, especially the part where Rina said what happened to the world. So you're not alone! I decided to update earlier than usual, because I love writing this so much! Plus you all seemed to like the last chapter well enough, so I better give you this one.**

**As always, I want to give a million thanks each to the people who reviewed chapter 7. And they are DarkBlade98, ghj1, Bubble Blower, maximumride4ever, Maximum Ride all the way, and xxApocalypexx! So you all get a hug from me, a hug from Max and- oh, wait, Rina's gone now, so you can hug anyone you want in the flock and they will hug back, I promise! Plus you get fresh brownies (chocolate cures everything!). Can't give you much, Rina's gone now. Hey, remember when she responded to reviews that one time while I was typing a chapter, and she almost killed me when she figured out what the chapter was about? (sigh) Those were the days. Oh great, now I miss her even more. Quick, I gotta update!**

**But wait….what's this I smell? Is it…could it be? Yes, it's…it's a SONGFIC! I wanted to write these in forever, and this song is perfect to the mood! It'll come up later in the chapter, after everything is explained. The song is "Blurry", by Puddle of Mudd. Plus I'm gonna mention a few verses from "I'd Do Anything" by Simple Plan. Here you go!**

**Chapter 8: Blurry**

**POV Max**

I can't believe what's happened these past two weeks. It's incredible how one person can cause so much trouble when she's not even there. But you don't know why we're sitting here in dog crates awaiting some last tests before Itex kills us. Here, let me back up a second and explain.

Two weeks ago, we were in a forest near the Great Salt Lake. Rina was showing off her powers for us, and Nudge suggested traveling through time to the future. We all went through a portal. I don't know what we expected, maybe a utopia for every living thing to be in peace and harmony with each other or something like that. But whatever we imagined, the future wasn't what we expected. But you know what was there and how it got to be. I'll skip that part. I don't want to relive the experience.

So we all fought to get back to the present and sat down, trying to take it all in. It was then that Rina sat down and started crying. We tried to comfort her (even Fang tried to help!) , but Rina stopped crying as suddenly as she started. She told us that she was a distraction, that she was preventing us from saving the world, and she was going to leave us. We tried to convince her to stay because we enjoyed her company too much for her to leave, but she wouldn't listen.

The little kids gave her a huge hug that almost knocked her over, she shook hands with Fang, and she gave me a bear hug that I tried to return as best I could while being crushed. It was when she said goodbye to Iggy that nearly tore me in half. They kissed, and Rina gave him her iPod, claiming that she could be reached through it. Then she flew away. Iggy looked crushed and tried to stop her from leaving, but it was no good. But you already know that part. Here's the part you don't know.

After the clouds swallowed Rina whole, Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge completely lost it. Tears fell down their faces in gallons. I tried to comfort them and not loose it myself, and Fang just stood by, trapped in his own thoughts. Iggy, on the other hand, was still looking up, trying to see Rina. And a tear or two trickled down his cheek. I never saw Iggy cry before.

We tried to continue flying to Seattle in time for that meeting, but we never thought we'd miss Rina that much. Her help, her humor, her expertise, her power. We mostly healed. The kids tried just to forget about her, but it proved difficult because some of their best memories were with Rina. So they just stayed quiet. Fang seemed the most normal, but I knew he missed the sense of security that came with having a genie. I missed those days too, the days when I knew that if something went wrong Rina would fix it. I came in second place for the "Calmest Person in the Face of Loss" awards because I had to be strong for the flock, but there was one night when Fang had to get up and comfort me because I was crying during my watch.

"She left us because she knew we could do it on our own. So stop crying."

"You know, you're not exactly going to be the best motivational speaker."

"I know. Just stop crying. It's all going to be fine. You'll save the world like you're supposed to, and then she'll find us again."

"And what if I don't save the world? The only reason I agreed to going to Seattle was because Rina could take care of us if I goofed up. And what if we can't find her again? Or if she can't get to us?"

"Max, don't worry about it until the time comes. It's going to be fine. Now get some sleep. I'm taking your shift."

Sighing, I laid on my side next to Fang, and I felt a little better when I heard his breathing and felt him s close to me.

I think the person most affected by Rina's departure was Iggy. He hardly spoke anymore, and whenever someone would mention Rina, he would walk or fly away, depending on what we were doing. I didn't see him blow anything up recently, and he only cooked for us to eat, never for himself. He never let that iPod out of his sight, but he never talked to it either. He would just look at it as if he could see Rina's face on it. The only time I saw him smile was in his dreams, when he was probably dreaming of Rina, and he was most upset when he just woke up, because it was then that he realized that his meetings with Rina the night before were just dreams.

When we reached Seattle, we had no clue what to do. We ended up calling everywhere there was meetings, and we weren't having any success. It was only when the voice showed up that we got help.

_Hello, Maximum._

_Long time no hear, Jeb. _I sneered in my mind. _What do you want?_

_The meeting takes place at 420 Eagle Street, seventh floor, last door on the left._

Wow, the voice was actually cooperating. _Are you sure this isn't a trick?_

_Positive._

_But you'd be lying, probably. You probably want me to trust you._

_Listen to your gut, Max. _And then I didn't hear anything.

"What happened?" Fang asked from the other bed of the hotel we were staying at. Yes, Fang and I shared a room. But Angel wanted to go with Nudge, and Gazzy and Iggy were partners in crime, so that left me and Fang.

"The voice just gave me an address."

"Wow, the voice is actually cooperating? Never thought I'd see the day."

"I thought the same thing. Should we try it out?"

"Might as well. We're not having any better luck with the phone." So we took a very long walk downtown to 420 Eagle Street and took the stairs (you don't know us very well if you guessed we'd take the elevator). We tried to listen in, but Itex hired guards to place in front of the door. So we sent Angel through the heating vent to listen in (because she's the smallest and she can send messages with her mind).

We got the details, and flew down to Microsoft as soon as we could, but guess what? There were more guards. We tried to get past them, first by fighting, then by Angel's mind control. But the guards were trained to fight, and they could have been black belts. But we didn't figure out that they weren't from Microsoft until Angel tried to read their minds and didn't get anything.

"Max, there's nothing going on in their minds! I can't get or send anything. It's almost like…" She said in a whisper.

"Almost like what, sweetie?"

"Max, it's almost like they're flyboys!" At that moment, the guards morphed into those mechanical Erasers I hated so much. The scientists must have found a way to make them morph into humans or wolves. And they were apparently programmed to capture us. One of them picked Angel up and swung her over his shoulder before she even had time to scream. Five more came out and picked us up in a similar style. I swear, those idiots have no imagination. We struggled as hard as we could, but we were wore out and these guys had a killer grip, so it didn't make any difference.

They took us to a helicopter and threw us into the back where we couldn't even escape. No one tried to fight. I didn't know what was into them, but I didn't try to encourage them to fight. They'd need all the strength they could muster for our landing. But just before we landed, the pilot gassed us unconscious, and we woke up in dog crates. That was three days after Rina left.

On the fourth day, we were visited by none other than Doctor ter Borcht himself. He looked beside himself with glee.

"So, ve ave caught ze amazing Maximum Ride and her flock. It is about time ve ave done so."

"You flatter me, Bortchy. I thought I was nothing more than stupendous." This comment earned me a few smiles from the younger kids and a red Doctor ter Borcht.

"I ave just come to let you know zat you will be completing some last minute experiments for us bevore you are exterminated."

"What kind of experiments? And at least you used the word 'exterminate' instead of 'retire.' 'Retire' wasn't fitting. But then again, neither is 'exterminate.' 'Massacre' or 'murder' is more like it. And I see you still haven't cut down on the fatty foods." I gestured to his overly-large stomach.

"You vill perform ze last experiments! You are only useful to us if you perform ze experiments, or you vill die earlier! So cooperate, and you may live another few days." He sputtered. Then he turned to leave. I think I got him mad. Good.

"Max: one, Bortchy: none." I muttered.

The last ten days were nothing but painful experiments. I won't go into detail, unless I want the rating to get higher and higher. So I'll just say that they hurt a lot, and we went to bed (okay, we fell asleep in crates, we didn't have actual beds) whimpering in pain. I didn't even get to share a crate with Fang. They only had five crates, and Fang, Iggy, and I were too big to share even a large crate. They were going to pair Gazzy and Angel up (being the smallest and youngest and all), but for some reason Angel used her mind control to get Gazzy and Nudge in the same crate. I never did figure out why she did that. Well, no better time to find out.

"Hey, Angel?" I asked in my mind. Angel, who was leaning against the side of her crate and nursing her knee (they tested her reflexes a bit too hard, but that was the least of it), sat up, instantly alert, and turned to look at me.

"Yeah?"

"Just wondering, how come you put Gazzy and Nudge in the same crate?"

"Well, just look at them!" I turned to look at their large crate. Nudge was crying silently from a bite from a new breed of eraser, and Gazzy was looking at her with sadness. All of a sudden, he pulled her so that her head was against his chest. Nudge didn't seem to mind being so close to Gazzy, and she stopped crying a little when he stroked her hair. Of course, everyone in our little circle of crates saw this motion, but Gazzy and Nudge didn't care, they just comforted themselves with the other's presence.

"I see what you mean." I told Angel (in my mind again).

"Gazzy and Nudge both kinda asked me in my mind if I would control the whitecoat's mind to give them a crate together. I did it for them because Nudge is one of my best friends and Gazzy is my brother, and sometimes I look in their minds, and they really like each other. They both got especially restless and anxious when Iggy and…." She stopped, afraid to say her name and bring a new wave of tears.

"I never thought that they would like each other." I tried to get her off the subject.

"Yeah, it is kind of unexpected. I just hope Iggy doesn't get reminded of what he used to experience."

"What do you pick up from him?" I guess we couldn't avoid the subject any longer.

"Extreme sadness. He misses her so much it's unhealthy. He checks the iPod every time we're asleep for something from her, any message at all. He also sent a few messages to her. And he thinks about his dreams, where he's with her. I don't like to look in there much, it's so sad and upset, and all he thinks about is her."

I sighed. Poor guy. I wish she would show up. It would make everyone happy, especially Iggy. Maybe with her around he would eat an entire meal for once. Maybe he would laugh at one of her jokes again. Maybe he'd smile again. But would she ever come back?

**POV Iggy**

I don't want to talk about it. I'll just say that I can't believe she left us. I can't believe she left me. It was her fault that we were here in these dog crates awaiting pain and death! It was her fault that everyone but me was afraid to say her name for fear of crying! I would never do this to her if it caused her pain, so why did she go ahead and do it to me? I thought she loved me. Why did she leave me, then? And no, genie law is not an answer.

I still managed to save the iPod and some ear buds. It was like my escape from everything. Everything but myself, my pain, and my thoughts. And sometimes I still heard what was going on. For example, even with the ear buds on, I could still hear Nudge whimpering (oh my god, it sounded so much like Rina when she was crying after she kissed me!). Then it was muffled. I turned to look for the cause, and saw Nudge's head in Gazzy's chest! He was stroking her hair and everything.

I sent him a questioning look. He sent me a look that clearly said "I can't stand to hear her cry." It was then that I realized that Gazzy, my eight-year-old partner in crime, loved Nudge! I looked away. Sure, I was happy for them, but I just didn't want to remember how two weeks ago, I was doing the same thing to Rina. It was too painful.

I tried to concentrate purely on the last few lyrics of I'd Do Anything. Yeah, you heard me, I'm listening to the song that was in my dream, the one with Rina as the shadow girl.

_I'd do anything_

_To fall asleep with you._

_I'd do anything._

_There's nothing I won't do._

_I'd do anything_

_To fall asleep with you._

_I'd do anything_

'_Cause I know_

_I won't forget you._

I had the iPod play only one song until I changed it, so it started over.

_Another day is going by._

_I'm thinking about you all the time._

_But you're out there_

_And I'm here waiting._

_And I wrote this letter in my head_

'_Cause so many things were left unsaid._

_But now you're gone_

_And I can't think straight._

Nah, this was getting old. The mode was on shuffle, so I just went to the next song. The song was Blurry. Perfect.

_Everything's so blurry_

_And everyone's so faint. _Too true. I hardly notice or care what's going on around me.

_And everybody's empty_

_And everything is so messed up. _Yeah, everyone and everything does seem to be affected by Rina's departure. The flock acts so depressed, but who wouldn't in the School? And we would all be happy and free with Rina if she hadn't left.

_Preoccupied without you. _Isn't everyone?

_I cannot live at all. _Even if you say you're saving our lives, I still can't live without you.

_My whole world surrounds you,_

_I stumble then I crawl._

_You could be my someone, _You already are.

_You could be my sieve._

_You know that I'll protect you_

_From all of the obscene_ Or you protect me. Either way it works.

_I wonder what you're doing,_

_Imagine where you are. _You could be anywhere in the universe, but you chose to be away from me.

_There's oceans in between us,_

_But that's not very far. _Especially with you at the other side waiting for me.

_Can you take it all away?_

_Can you take it all away?_

_Well, you shoved it in my face,_

_This pain you gave to me. _The pain of you leaving, that is, among other things (coughSchoolcough)

_Can you take it all away? _What are they talking about? Of course you can take it away, you're Rina!

_Can you take it all away?_

_Well, you shoved it in my face._

_Everyone is changing,_

_There's no one left that's real._

_So make up your own ending _Well, make up your own ending, our ending, and the world's ending when you make your decision, but no pressure!

_And let me know just how you feel _Yeah, do you love me enough to come back?

'_Cause I am lost without you. _Just ask the flock if you need proof.

_I cannot live at all._

_My whole world surrounds you,_

_I stumble then I crawl._

_You could be my someone,_

_You could be my sieve. _Would you?

_You know that I will save you _

_From all of the unclean._

_I wonder what you're doing, _

_I wonder where you are._

_There's oceans in between us, _

_But that's not very far._

_Can you take it all away? _Could you take us all away from this hellhole they call the School?

_Can you take it all away?_

_Well, you shoved it in my face,_

_This pain you gave to me._

_Can you take it all away?_

_Can you take it all away?_

_Well, you shoved it in my face,_

_This pain you gave to me._

_Nobody told me what you thought, _ Well, actually, Gazzy did, but the only way I'd be sure was if Angel told me directly.

_Nobody told me what to say, _Yeah, they just told me I should get you before someone else, but they didn't tell me how!

_Everyone showed you where to turn, _I think the genies probably told you what to do.

_Showed you when to run away._

_Nobody told you where to hide, _

_Nobody told you what to say, _

_Everyone showed you where to turn,_

_Showed you when_ _to run away._

_Can you take it all away?_

_Can you take it all away?_

_Well, you shoved it in my face,_

_This pain you gave to me._

_Can you take it all away?_

_Can you take it all away?_

_Well, you shoved it in my face,_

_This pain you gave to me._

_This pain you gave to me!_

_You take it all_

_You take it all away…_

_This pain you gave to me._

_You take it all away_

_This pain you gave to me._

_Take it all away_

_This pain you gave to me._

That song made so much sense. I missed Rina so much. What would I give just to hear her crack a joke or see her smile. I'd pay any price just to have five minutes alone with her, to ask her why she left and hear her jokes, and maybe we'd….never mind. I said I didn't want to talk about it.

**I know this chapter wasn't that satisfactory, it just showed you what everyone was feeling. But I'm in the mood to forget those reviews and just go type chapter 9 for you right after I submit this. Hoped you liked the songfic, and please review! You're so close to getting that sequel it scares me! See you in a few minutes!**


	9. Stay

**Hi, everyone! I was going to write this earlier than now, but dad made me go to bed before I could write this, and yesterday was Harry Potter and I couldn't bring my laptop, so now is the only time I can do it. **

**And I'm really happy. Do you want to know why? THERE'S GOING TO BE A SEQUEL! Not only did you give me 50 reviews, you gave me 64 reviews! All the people who reviewed for this rock, including Flooj, Maximum Ride all the way, gazzyrules9878, Bubble Blower, maximumride4ever, DarkBlade98, subee-luvs-Fang, Iggy's eyes, xxApocalypsexx, and ghj1 (she was the fiftieth reviewer!)! You all completely rule, and you all get a huge chocolate-Butterfinger brownie with whipped cream and chocolate and caramel sauce. And if you don't like chocolate (what? You don't like chocolate??!! Understandable, my dad is allergic and my brother hates it), then you get a vanilla ice cream cone with gummy bears. And if you're lactose intolerant, or you have braces and can't have the gummy bears, then you get a big marble cake with "Thank you for reviewing!" written on it in big fluffy frosting. And if you don't like cake or frosting, you are one picky person, and you're sure missing out! **

**So here's chapter 9. Oh, and this is another songfic, and the song is "Stay", by Lisa Loeb. Enjoy! Besides the fact that everyone's so upset with Rina gone.**

**Disclaimer: I'm too excited to do this! I'm just not gonna do a disclaimer this time. Sue me!**

**Chapter 9: Stay**

**POV Rina (here she is! Now you get to see what happened to her!)**

I swear, it almost killed me to leave the flock. I still regret it now. I always replayed our last moments of them knowing I was present, when I said goodbye. The little kids gave me a monster hug that almost crushed me, and I gave Max a monster hug that almost crushed her, which she kinda hugged back. I gave Fang a handshake (c'mon, this is Fang, you know he'll never let me hug him!), which he surprisingly returned with a very good grip.

Then it was Iggy's turn. Iggy, my best and second-only boyfriend. Iggy, whose kisses were the only ones where I felt anything. Iggy, kind, thoughtful, funny, handsome, talented, sweet, lovable Iggy. And I had to leave him. I knew it was killing him too, but I had to do it. Genie law enforcement could take away my powers for not following the law, and they could do worse. I would tell the flock that, but I shouldn't worry them any more than I was going to. So Iggy pulled me in for one last kiss, which I returned. Then I gave him my old iPod and told him to use it to contact me. I may as well give him a little hope, considering what he was going through at the moment. I tried to fly away, and I was half-grateful when Iggy tried to keep my grounded by pulling on my jeans.

"Don't leave us. Don't leave me." I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. His beautiful, no longer sightless eyes told me everything he was feeling, even though I could sense it powerfully already. I won't go into detail, though. People have destroyed themselves dwelling on the past.

"I have to." I tore my eyes away from his and took one last look at the flock. Angel was trying to send me thoughts, trying to keep me with them. I blocked them out. I couldn't stay and ruin the world. I love it too much. Gazzy and Nudge were standing very close to each other, unknowingly seeking the other's comfort. I'd never have a chance to get them together like I did with Max and Fang. Speaking of which, Max and Fang were just staring at me, their thoughts negative and full of worry about what would happen with me gone, but their faces expressionless. And Iggy was trying to keep everything bottled in, his instincts dying to fly up and grab me and never let me go. But he was fighting with himself, and his control was winning. He resorted to staring at me through blurry eyes that begged me not to go.

I rose into the air, until the clouds covered me from everyone's view. I think a tear escaped me before I was covered, but it didn't matter. When I was sure that no one was going to fly in and see me, I transported myself to genie headquarters. What, you've never heard of genie headquarters? It's where people, genies, like me meet to make those stupid laws that I have to obey, and settle arguments, and make requests and reports and records, and get together to hear from our leader. Think of a big city, maybe a bit smaller than New York City. **(A/N Sorry to all the international people, I can't think of any other comparisons!)** That's about the entire population of genies. A fourth of the population works at the genie headquarters. The other three fourths grant the wishes for creatures all over the universe. But you don't want to know too much, I mean, this story is about Maximum Ride!

I appeared in front of the marble pillars in the clouds. Where are these clouds? No idea! Only the leader and his advisors know where we are, and they aren't telling, so you humans can't crash our party. I know this place backwards and forwards (both my parents work here), so I went to the request section. After a long wait in line, I saw my boss, Charlie, in his office. Ah, the many times after leaving each owner, when Charlie sat behind his desk and asked me to tell him every detail of the experience for the records. It almost comforted me to see the window behind his desk that looked out into the sky, and the little plaque on his desk that said "Mr. Charlie Worth" on it, and the chair that I had been sitting and reporting as long as I had worked as a genie.

"Hi, Rina, how's things?" he said in that gruff, yet somewhat kind, voice of his.

"Hey, Charlie. I just left Maximum Ride and her flock of bird kids. They're in the America part of the earth. Heard of them?"

"Yeah, they're the ones destined to save the planet, right?" I nodded. He whistled and leaned back in his chair. "Quite an honor. Well, tell me what happened. You know, for your record."

I told him everything, starting from when Iggy and Gazzy blew up that tree. He oohed and ahhed and gasped in all the right places, and his eyes widened a good deal when he heard about Iggy and me kissing.

"Rina, you know you shouldn't get attached to owners. It encourages you to break the law and spend more time with them."

"I know, I just couldn't help it. Call it his fault for being so handsome and smart and funny and talented."

"And your owner."

"I know, and I didn't want to leave him. He didn't even make the usual three wishes yet, he just wished for his vision back. All the rest were requests. I mean, he knows that genies are people too! He's the only living human to realize that."

"I know, Rina. He sounds like a great guy, but why did you leave them? You were bound to them until they died." I continued the story, even though Charlie's comment made me think about Iggy dying, which was something I never wanted him to do. The image of his cold body just became more horrifying as I described the trip to the future and what images I saw as I told the flock what happened. I never wanted to relive that moment, so I just transmitted the images to Charlie's brain and hoped he would understand. Thankfully, he did.

When I reached the end of the story, I burst into tears. I knew I had just cried half an hour ago, when I was still with the flock, and the thought of them only made me cry harder. I could still see Max pigging out at the chocolate factory, Fang looming over me, red in the face when I mentioned Fax as we were flying, Nudge and Angel telling me that Iggy loved me and I should do something about it, and Gazzy glancing at Nudge a second too long after Iggy complimented me. And Iggy. He was haunting my thoughts the most. Why did I have to leave him? I felt a nudge (I miss Nudge!) at my wrist, and looked up to see Charlie handing me a tissue.

"I'm sorry." I apologized as I blew my nose. "I should have more self-control than this."

"No, don't be. I can see you may need a little time to recover. I'm giving you a vacation. Take as long as you need, and don't come back until you can resume your position as genie."

"But Charlie, who will-"

"I'll take care of everything. You just rest, forget, maybe take a little trip. I hear Mars is nice this time of its orbit. Just take a vacation, Rina. You've been doing this too long, and a break would be good for you."

"Thanks, Charlie." I gave him a watery smile and walked out the door. A vacation, huh? I didn't really want to go to Mars, but I did want to visit a few places on Earth without a master dragging me away from all the sights.

I took the long way and flew home. I still had the key to our three-storied house, so I unlocked the door while mom and dad were still working and crept upstairs to my former room. I packed a suitcase with clothes, a camera, some paper, and a pencil, and took it downstairs. Before I left, I wrote a note telling mom and dad the situation (I didn't mention that I had a boyfriend, though), and that I was going to take a vacation on Earth. I also promised to send pictures. I hoped the note sounded like I wasn't too upset, because they would insist on seeing me if they thought I was sad.

I started in Switzerland, because they eat the most chocolate of any country, and chocolate cures everything. However, I was reminded of when the flock and I snuck into a chocolate factory, and I kept wanting to send them some of this chocolate as an apology, so I didn't stay long. The hotel was nice, though, and I tried not to check my iPod, but I couldn't help but check it once. Surprisingly, there was one message from my parents in response to my note, and a message from Iggy! I though he might be too mad to make any sort of contact with me! In the two seconds it took to open and load his video, I was about to break the iPod in anxiety.

Finally, his face showed up on the screen. Yes, he looked so sad, but still, it was his face!

"Hi, Rina. Just thought I'd try this out. Hope you get this. I gotta speak quietly, the rest of the flock is asleep. We all miss you. The little kids are really quiet. Gazzy hasn't asked me to blow anything up recently, Nudge talks less, and Angel bursts into tears at random points. Probably reading someone's mind when they're thinking about you. Max isn't feeling so good, I think she's worried that if she messes up you won't be there to fix it. Fang too. He hardly talks, except to say important things or comfort Max. But that's Fang for you." I laughed weakly at the humor I missed so much. "And then there's me. Rina, I really miss you. Please come back, or at least give me a message or something. Gotta go. Bye." And then his face disappeared.

I fell back onto the hotel bed and put my hand over my eyes. I lifted my hand. When did I start crying? But they missed me. They all missed me. I just wanted to go over there and hug every last one of them. I played the message three times, and just as I was about to play it a fourth time, I saw a new one. It was Angel. It was four a.m over there, why would she be talking?

"Hi, Rina. I just watched Iggy send his message to you. I had to take the iPod away from him to get this to you, and he has a killer grip even in his sleep, so I hope this one gets through too, after all the effort I put into sending this. We all miss you, Rina. Nudge and Gazzy are less energetic, they hardly ever want to play, not that we could if they said yes. You always played with us, and it would be really different playing without you. Max and Fang are trying to be strong for us, but they're both worried about what will happen to us now that you're gone. And Iggy is the worst. He hardly eats anymore, and he only cooks for the rest of us. He's almost as silent as Fang. Out loud, anyways. In his mind he can't stop thinking about you, and he never lets go of the iPod. I don't like to look in his mind much, I cry whenever I read it. We miss you so much, Rina, especially Iggy. He's going to hurt himself if you don't get here soon. Please, Rina?" Once again, it went dim.

Why would Iggy do that to himself? Hardly eat and think about nothing but me? I don't want him to do that! He shouldn't harm himself like that, he's only mortal, and he won't get another chance!

I watched over the flock from then on. I know Charlie said to forget them, but I just couldn't do that. I cared too much to have them hurt themselves! I remember one time when I was in Amsterdam when it was lunchtime for the flock, and Iggy wasn't eating. I acted on adrenaline and poofed over there, invisible. I snuck up behind him, and whispered one word. "Eat." I also made myself transparent or feel-though or whatever you want to call it, so when Iggy turned around, he went straight through my torso. Shrugging, he ate half his meal, all the time thinking that he was imagining things and his conscience was just giving him what he wanted (he wants to hear me make him eat?), but if it was my voice, he would do whatever I said. I didn't have a plan, but it worked perfectly anyways.

Even though I was watching over the flock, I still tried to enjoy my vacation. I tried to train myself to focus less attention on the flock and more on myself and my surroundings. I never got a message from the flock, so that helped, and I gradually checked on the flock and the iPod less and less. I started appreciating Britain and the people, sights, smell, tastes, and I learned to think less of the flock, hard as that was. I was almost healed.

But one morning (night for the flock), I got a message from Iggy while I was eating breakfast at a café in Paris. When I saw his face, he looked different. He had dark circles under his exhausted eyes, and he looked like he was undernourished. His wings, once proud, were limp, he had plentiful bruises and scars, and his clothes were ragged and dirty. He still looked beautiful in my eyes, but he was tired, and my heart and head filled with love for Iggy, sadness that he looked so down trod, and anger for whoever did that to him. Then I took a second to look at his surroundings. He was sitting cross-legged in a tiny, beige, plastic box with bars on one wall and a roof that was so low he had to slouch. Outside those bars were electric lights, a white tiled floor, and the end of another beige box. _Those were canine campers._ I realized in dread, which could only mean one thing.

"Hi, Rina. Sorry you haven't heard from me in a while, it's just that some stuff was happening. And that stuff ended us up here, at the School. We tried your idea to spy and send that email, but we failed, and some flyboys showed up and took us here. They've been doing experiments on us. Thankfully they haven't tried to 'improve' my night vision again. They're shocked at how I can see again, though. I told 'em a genie did it, but they didn't believe me." I chuckled dryly, thrilled that they hadn't taken the last of his spirit yet. He sighed. "Look, we could really use your help now. Everyone's really scared, we might only have a few more days to live. They're doing some really painful stuff to us. The only good news we've had in a long time is that Gazzy and Nudge showed they like each other. Please come back, or send a message, or do something to make us feel better. Max and Fang can't do anything for us, and the kids are all trying to be big, but it's not working. Please, Rina? Bye."

They were at the School? Those evil moron scientists stole the flock and took them to the School for some last minute tests before they died? No! I couldn't believe it. The imaginary wall that had kept my love for Iggy and the flock fell down, and out rushed memories of them smiling, laughing, crying, watching, fighting, talking, everything I ever witnesses them do, invisible or not, there or not. It was too much. In a daze I blasted through the lobby and almost flew up to my hotel room. I heard something from those French minds, something like "rude Americans, always in a hurry, never considerate," but that didn't matter to me. I just had to get to my room and try to contact them.

Once I collapsed on my bed and breathed normally, I could think clearly. Contact? I really shouldn't. I was trying to forget the flock, not help them! I wasn't their genie anymore. It wasn't my problem. And I'm talking about the incredible Maximum Ride and her flock. They'll find a way out.

But on the other hand, what if they don't? What if they never find a way to get out sometime before Itex kills them, and if I don't come save them they'll die and the world won't be saved? I mean, I don't have to, but I should. And what if they get all hopeful when I contact them and it turns out more genie laws forbid me to go, or Itex stops me or something? Deep down, this isn't a matter of law or the future. This is a matter of if I should save my best friends and boyfriend regardless of the future. Iggy would say something like, "Well, make your ending, our ending, and the world's ending when you make your decision, but no pressure!" **(A/N This is exactly what Iggy says in chapter 8, for those who can't remember!)**

I sighed. I better see how desperate they are. Maybe I should talk to Nudge. No, she'll tell everyone what I said. Angel, maybe? Yeah, she can send messages herself and make things easier for me, plus she reads minds, so she can tell me what everyone's thinking.

**POV Angel (betcha didn't see that one coming!)**

It was mid-evening, and those wicked scientists were on coffee break, which meant that we were shoved back into our cages for half an hour before they pulled us out to complete the day's experiments. We were tending our wounds and trying to comfort each other. Gazzy and Nudge were doing a very good job of comforting each other, and I was watching, when I got the most unexpected shock.

"_Angel? Angel? Can you hear me_?" Rina! I jolted upright from my slouch and hit the ceiling of the dog crate. Everyone stopped to look at me in surprise and confusion. Apparently Rina was talking to me in my head.

"Sorry, found a tender spot." As this was nothing new, everyone turned to whatever they were doing. I did get a few sympathetic looks from Max, Gazzy, and Nudge, but they were used to me taking care of my wounds without help.

"_Good cover."_ Rina commented.

"_Thanks. But what are you doing? We haven't heard from you for two weeks!"_

"_I know, and I'm sorry. My boss told me to forget about you guys, but I couldn't. I was kinda watching over you without you knowing. I didn't think it would hurt."_

"_Watching over us? Then why didn't you save us when the flyboys took us here and did experiments? You weren't much help!"_

"_Well, I could only do so much, enough to keep you alive. And I only just now realized that you were here, I was trying to look out for you guys less and less. My boss wouldn't be very happy if I let show that I was still watching you guys, so I only did what was almost unnoticeable in the beginning. But I was a help! Did you think Iggy would eat anything if I didn't make him eat it?"_

"_Fine. You've helped a little. But what about our bruises? And why were you trying to forget us?"_

"_About the bruises, that's too much. It's kinda noticeable when your bruises heal the minute you get them. And then the scientists would want to test you more and see what happened, which would undoubtedly cause more pain on your behalf. And I was trying to forget you guys because…well, you're kinda unhealthy to me. I can't help but wonder how you're doing and if you'll still save the world. And I always feel guilty for leaving. My boss told me the only cure was to forget you."_

"_Maybe it's time to not listen to your boss."_

"_That's what I'm doing. I'm contacting you to ask if you're alright. What's happening?"_

"_Oh, Rina, it's awful over here! Every day they make us do horrible things. We have to swallow radioactive dye for our circulation, and run so they can test our speed, and shock us to see how much electricity we can stand if we fly through lightning or something, and they never treat our injuries unless they get in the way of the experiments." _I had to stop and keep from bursting into tears again. Rina must have sensed it and changed the subject.

"_How about the flock?"_

"_They're not doing so well. It's like they're not themselves. No one speaks anymore unless we have to, and we don't have any energy, and everyone's so sad. And please don't be offended, but we're trying to forget you too. It hurts to remember you. And Iggy's going to pass out if he continues this anymore. We all will. But why did you just start caring?"_

"_I told you, I just realized that you're here! Is there anything I can do?"_

"_That's like asking if a lake has water in it. We need to get out of here, Rina! We need to heal, preferably quickly! Can you do that for us?"_

"_I don't know if I should. I could get in serious trouble if I come. Can't you guys get out yourselves? Bite the whitecoats whenever they try to give you shots or something?"_

"_We've tried, and if we do anything bad, we'll be killed. How much trouble can you get into for saving us?"_

"_A lot. The law enforcement could take away my powers, and they could make me an outcast from everyone. I can't have that happen, because if my powers are taken away, unimaginable things could happen."_

"_Well, that does sound kinda bad. But the damage would already be done, and we'd be free, and we could save the world!"_

"_But I'd be in isolation without powers, and without me you can't do anything about it. But you don't care about me that much, so…"_

"_No, we care! I didn't know that would happen to you. But we still need to get out all the same. Can't you send help or something?"_

"_I might. I need to decide what I should do, or if I should even do it. I could change history by doing this. I gotta think it through."_

"_Rina, if you need any more proof that you need to save us, look in Iggy's mind! Just say one sentence to him and he'll go ballistic! He misses you like crazy, more than all of us. And if the Rina I know doesn't get at least a little softened by that, I don't know what will." _I think I heard her sigh, if that were possible.

"_I guess I should get a second opinion. But that's just your desires to get out! You can do it yourselves, I know it!"_

"_But Rina, we need you!"_

"_Look, I'll think about it. I just can't make any promises. Bye, Angel. Say hi to the flock for me, and tell Iggy especially that I'm sorry."_

"_Wait, Rina!" _But the connection was broken.

"Angel, what's wrong? Is that tender spot hurting you too much?" I realized that the entire flock was staring at me, and I was crying. When did that happen?

"Look, I'll level with you. I was lying. There's no sore spot. I jumped up because Rina just connected with my mind. She just got Iggy's message about us being at the School, and she was asking me if we were really desperate to get out."

"Rina?" Iggy's face was paler than usual, which I thought would never happen, and he looked almost frozen. "Rina was talking to you?"

"Yeah. She says hi, and she told me to tell you especially that she's sorry. And I tried to convince her to come back, but she didn't listen. She just wanted to know how things were going. She said she'd think about sending help, but if she breaks the law, she'll lose her powers."

Everyone was silent. Then Iggy said "I can't believe she didn't talk to me."

"I think she would be too hurt to talk to you. She really likes you." Nudge answered.

"Really?" He perked up considerately, then sank back down. "She'd stay if she did."

"I think she was trying to save everyone by leaving." Max said. "Regardless of how miserable we are. Why can't she save us? I mean, if she doesn't, we'll be killed, and the world will be destroyed anyways."

"I know, Max, but she said we could escape ourselves. She thinks we're capable enough to do well enough without her."

"She's wrong." Fang said.

"Fang! Don't ever say that! We'll manage." Max tried to sooth us.

"We're all thinking it, Max. We can't. Not without Rina. We don't know how to get out or how to save the world or anything." Shocked from this outlash from Fang, we continued tending our bruises and staring into nothing.

**POV Rina**

I can't deny it. I watched the conversation after I left Angel's mind. They all looked so upset, so afraid, utterly hopeless. It was painful. I never wanted Iggy to think that I didn't love him. I didn't want Fang to say that they can't do anything without me there. I didn't want any of them to live one more day wondering if they would live to see the next. Something had to be done. I had to go save them!

But could I live with the consequences? I didn't know if I could live without my powers, especially if they kept me from the flock. The chances were low that they would find another genie, and I don't think they would waste their wishes on me. And the chances were even lower that I would be able to keep up with them without my powers, even if I was isolated.

Sighing, I reached for my iPod on the bedside table and turned it on. I always managed to think better with music on, and the songs always helped me decide on something. I put the iPod on shuffle mode and randomly picked a song. I ended up with Stay. Perfect.

_You say_

_I only hear what I want to._

_And you say_

_I talk so all the time, so._

_And I thought what I felt was simple_

_And I thought that I don't belong_

_And now that I am leaving,_

_Now I know that I did something wrong,_

'_Cause I missed you._

_Yeah, yeah, I missed you._

_And you say_

_I only hear what I want to,_

_I don't listen hard, _

_I don't pay attention_

_To the distance that you're running, _

_To anyone, anywhere. _

_I don't understand, if you really care,_

_I'm only hearing negative, "no, no, no" bad!_

_So I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up,_

_And this woman was singing my song:_

_Lover's in love, and the other's run away._

_Lover is crying 'cause the other won't stay._

_Some of us hover when we weep for the other_

_Who was dying since the day they were born, _

_Well, this is not that._

_I think that I'm throwing but I'm thrown._

_And I thought I'd live forever,_

_But now I'm not so sure,_

_You try to tell me that I'm clever,_

_But that won't take me anyhow or anywhere_

_With you._

_You said that I was naïve,_

_I thought that I was strong, _

_I thought "Hey, I can leave, I can leave"_

_Oh, but now I know that I was wrong_

'_Cause I missed you._

_Yeah, I miss you._

_You say "I caught you 'cause I want you_

_And one day I'll let you go."_

_You tried to give away a keeper, _

_Or keep me 'cause you know you're_

_Just so scared to loose._

_And you say_

_Stay._

_And you say_

_I only hear what I want to._

The song was good, but not that fitting. During the song I made up my own version, and when it was over, I played it again, but when I sang it softly to no one (well, I guess I was singing it to the flock, mainly Iggy), I substituted the original lyrics with my own.

_They say_

_I only do what I want to._

_And they say_

_I do so all the time, so._

_And I know that that's how I got you, _

_And I thought that I don't belong,_

_And now that I have left you, _

_Now I think that I did something wrong,_

'_Cause I miss you._

_Yeah, I miss you._

_And I still _

_Watch you when I want to,_

_I try so hard_

_To not pay attention to _

_The people who won't let me, _

_But it's still really hard to bear,_

_I don't understand, do you really care?_

_I'm only hearing negative, "no, no, no" bad!_

_So I turn the iPod on, I turn the iPod up, _

_And this woman is singing our song._

_Lovers in love and the other goes away._

_Lovers are both crying 'cause the other can't stay._

_Some of us hover when we weep for the other _

_Who was dying since the day they were born,_

_Well, it's not quite that._

_I think that I'm throwing, but I'm thrown._

_And I thought I'd live forever, _

_But now I'm not so sure,_

_You're always saying that I'm clever, _

_But that won't take me anyhow or anywhere_

_With you._

_You say that I'm so sweet and_

_I thought I was just strong. _

_I said "I gotta leave, gotta leave,"_

_But now I think that I was wrong,_

'_Cause I miss you._

_Yeah, I miss you._

_I say you got me 'cause you need me_

_And you'll never let me go._

_You don't give away your genie, _

_But keep me 'cause you know you're _

_Just so scarred to loose._

_Should I _

_Stay?_

_Or should I_

_Save you? 'Cause I want to!_

It was the new toughest decision of my life, the second being if I should leave the flock. The new one was if I should go there, save them, and risk loosing my powers and my heart, or if I should stay and let everyone be killed. Should I stay? Should I go?

**MUAHAHAHAHA! Evil cliffie! Just thought I should give you** **something to think about while I go write chapter 10, where Rina makes her decision. Any bets as to what she'll do? And don't base it just on what you want her to do, base it on logic. How much does she love the flock? Does she sound like a person who will break the law for a few friends and a boyfriend? You decide!**

**Sorry this chapter took so long, I could only type at various times before something or someone called me away. But at least you get this! And this is the longest chapter ever, at like 5,500 words, or 15 pages, or whatever, so that would explain why this took so long to update!**

**Heh heh, I'm gonna do a sequel, I'm gonna do a sequel! **


	10. Rina's Choice

**Hey, everyone, just didn't want to keep you waiting. I just though to myself "I have time, why not make my readers happy and just start chapter 10 without their reviews urging me to do it!" So that's what I'm doing. No songfic this time, just Rina's biggest decision in her 1,300 years and the fate of the world! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of ideas here! You don't honestly think a thirteen-year-old girl living in Colorado would be lucky enough to have written one of the most amazing series known to mankind, do you? Nah, I'm not that good! If I am good, that is.**

**Chapter 10: Rina's Choice**

**POV Iggy**

Well, we were pretty much screwed. Angel could hear the scientists thinking of how to kill us, and they hardly fed us enough to fight. Not that I ate too much of what they gave us anyways, but still. It was clear that no one was going to save us, no kind scientist willing to free us and take us to an E-shaped house, no genie girlfriend unlocking us, not even a Max ready to pounce the second the scientists opened her crate. We may as well write our wills, which was exactly what I was doing at the moment. Rina wouldn't want any of my stuff, but she got it anyways, plus a last kiss, as a reminder of what she did to us. And Fang got the iPod in the hopes that someone will catch him dancing and singing along while listening to it.

"Hey, Gazzy?" I asked the crate next to me."

"Yeah?"

"Just wanted to let you know that when I die, you get my gunpowder."

"Thanks, man. You're getting my left shoe."

"How much powder in it?"

"It's all hidden under a compartment in the sole. That enough?"

"Yeah. And who gets your right shoe?"

"Me. And I get the powder in it too so I can avenge his death." Nudge whispered from the same crate.

"Gazzy teach you bombs?" I asked.

"Yeah, and the powder in his shoe is just right for the one I have in mind."

"Max, when I die, will you take Celeste?" Angel held up her toy bear to Max a few crates over.

"Guys, will you stop writing your wills? You're influencing everyone else!" Max yelled over to us.

"Oh, so you don't want what I have for you?" Fang asked Max.

"Depends what you've got for me." She responded. But before he could answer, the lab door opened. It was probably some scientist here to announce lights out, but instead, the whitecoat walked over and stood in the middle of our circle of crates. Looking up, I saw a small, middle-aged woman with blonde hair in a bun, a slim figure, and a clipboard in her left hand.

"What do you want?" Max snarled. She didn't have nearly as much energy to make the woman scared, but it still sounded pretty mean all the same.

"Well, it's worse than I thought. You all have such little energy. You can't even pose a simple threat." She shook her head.

"Well, maybe if you'd feed us a lot more than you do, maybe we could tear your eyes out, you nasty, vile-"

"You don't want to talk to me like that, Maximum." she interrupted.

"Why shouldn't we?" Fang snarled.

"Because then I might not free you." And then we all hit the ceiling as the whitecoats face morphed into none other than Rina! After two weeks, she finally decided to come back and help us! Relief filled my every molecule, and all I could see was Rina as she morphed from the lab coat into cargo pants and a sleeveless hoodie.

"Sorry about the voice change and costume, but the whitecoats might think I'm an intruder. But it really is worse than I thought. You all look so underfed and weak and dirty!" We heard a creak as our doors sprung open at the same time. Rina's doing, definitely. As we crawled out and stretched, Rina provided bags for each of us.

"Okay, guys, these bags have food, a change of clothes, and some new shoes for each of you. I was watching you guys make your wills, and Gazzy, that was very sweet of you, but I think I'll just take those shoes for you and you can have these. And yes, they have compartments complete with gunpowder, and they're actually quite plentiful stores, but I still wouldn't mind if you only used it in an emergency. And I want to see everyone eating once you've changed, especially you, Iggy." She gave me a smile that melted my heart like it had done so many times. "You haven't been eating enough, and you really need to get your strength back." She provided changing rooms for us, and we lined up and took the bags from her. We also hugged her us we got them, and we said various phrases like "We missed you." and "We don't know what we would have done without you." Even Fang gave the smallest hug and said "Thanks. We need you." If it weren't for all those years of being blind and relying on my hearing, I would never have heard him.

But because fate is so cruel and nice at the same time, I was at the back of the line, which was bad because I had to wait for everyone else to hug her, but nice because we were alone by the time it was my turn. We were silent for a moment.

"Did you make those changing rooms soundproof?" I asked.

"Now I did." She didn't even flinch, but I believed her anyways. "That was very funny when you wrote your will, by the way. But I really don't want your underwear."

"Too bad. Was there anything on that will you do want?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind that kiss, and your pink t-shirt that says 'All my other shirts were dirty' would be nice."

"Well, the t-shirt is busy, but I think I can provide one of those right now." And before I knew it, we were kissing. Oh, God, it was so perfect. I never realized I missed them that much. I put everything into that kiss, my sadness that she left, my joy that she returned, my happiness that we were busting out of there, everything. We broke apart when Rina realized that Angel would be coming out momentarily and I wasn't even dressed yet.

"Angel's coming. Better go change, and when you come out, you better be eating! There's no need to starve yourself, I honestly don't know what you were thinking. If I hadn't whispered to you to eat you never would." She muttered as she pushed me towards the remaining stall.

"That was you? I thought you didn't care what happened to me!"

"Why wouldn't I? The greatest, funniest, sweetest, most thoughtful guy I've ever met in all my years, and I'm going to let him starve on my behalf? Not gonna happen!" She sounded cross, but she was smiling as she said it.

"I missed you, Rina." I kissed her on the head and went to go change right as Angel came out for one more hug.

Changing was very interesting. The room was actually about the size of a master bedroom, complete with carpeting, mirror, chair, and a bathroom, which I gladly used to wash my face a bit. I ignored the shower, seeing as it would take forever and I would be wet for a while. And then there were the clothes. It turns out that Rina gave me a dark green T-shirt, jeans, and socks, which all fit me perfectly, thanks to her powers. The shoes were sneakers, and when I checked the sides of the relatively thin soles, I saw a door about the size of my thumb, which led to a large supply of powder, and even a few matches. I got dressed, and since Rina was here, and she would probably kill me if I didn't eat, I managed to take a few bites of the breakfast bar she gave me.

I came out to meet the entire flock in new clothes munching on various travel foods. They were all sitting and waiting for me, with Rina standing in front of them.

"Ah, good, you're out. I'll take that bag, you don't need it anymore." Rina said. The bag floated out of my hand and in hers, where it burst into blue flames.

"You forgot to take out the gunpowder in your shoes, which is why it's blue." She explained.

"I knew I forgot something!" I exclaimed and had a seat on the floor behind Gazzy.

"Okay, everyone, here's the plan." Suddenly a large White-Erase board was behind Rina, and it had a map of the layout of the School on it. "We are right here, in the holding facility. If we take this hallway to the other end and take a left, past the maze room, we should get to the computer room. This isn't just where the whitecoats store the data from the experiments, this is also where they're going to send the signal to start the By-Half Plan. If we hack into the system and do some typing and switching, we should be able to make it so that no computer except one of these can send the signal. Then we'll need to send a virus through to the main system over here so then the computers will do nothing but freeze, and just to be safe, we better bomb the School so then they can't get any replacements. Any questions?" Bomb, huh? Oh, this was going to get good!

"Yeah, me." Max raised her hand. "What exactly will this do?"

"Max, this is what you have to do to save the world. Without the computer that stores all the plans and data, they're powerless. The plan will figuratively explode, or in the case of this building, literally, and they can't do anything." I think Max was grateful that this was all she had to do.

"Won't they have a backup program for this situation?" Fang asked.

"Good call, Fang. Luckily, I know where it is. Angel, Gazzy, would you be willing to go retrieve it and bring it back to us so we can take care of it?"

"We'll try." Gazzy responded, suddenly the tough little trooper.

"Actually, you'll try and succeed." She told them with a small smile. It must be a comfort to know that you're going to be a success. "Good. Max, Nudge, you'll be doing the hacking. Nudge, get Max into the system, and she can take it from there. I'll provide help if necessary, but for the most part, this is your job, Max." They both nodded vigorously.

"I'll be the mental works. Physically, I'll be with Max to help in case they need it, but mentally I'll be everywhere. I'm the lookout for any guards, I'm watching Angel and Gazzy to make sure they get the backup, I'm the person who sends the signals and moves the plan along. I don't want to make myself more important, but I don't think anyone else is up to it." We all nodded. I don't think even Max could do that, she can't be everywhere at once."

"And that leaves Iggy and Fang. Since I'll be too busy in my mind to watch out for my physical self, I need you guys to do it. You need to be my bodyguards. If anyone tries to hurt me, Nudge, or Max, I need you to protect us. Especially me, because I can't fight flyboys and watch Gazzy and Angel at the same time. And if Max or Nudge needs me, shake my shoulder or something, because I can't exactly hear you guys. Got it?" We nodded again. I was going to protect her with my life.

"Yes, Iggy, I thought you might like this job." Everyone turned to me as Rina answered my mental comment. I forgot how annoying it was for her to answer stuff I though, but it was still nice to have her here to do it.

"Okay, everyone, we're going to the computer room, and I'll tell you what to do from there. Let's go!" We started towards the door, but first she said "Oh, wait, I need to free the experiments." Abruptly the cages were all empty. "I sent them to their parents, or relatives, in the case of the orphans. This should make things easier when we blow this place up. Gazzy, Iggy, think about how you'll do that and what you'll need." Both our faces lightened considerably at the prospect of the School blown sky-high.

We hurried through the long hallway with Rina at the lead, flanked by me and Fang. We reached the computer room to see maybe forty computers sitting on rows of metal tables. One computer had its own table, and it seemed to be the biggest, and that was the one Rina pointed to.

"That's the computer that stores the data for the By-Half Plan. There are a lot of passwords; apparently, Itex hardly trusts its own employees. This is where you come in, Nudge." She nodded, sat down, and started to hack into the system with Max behind her. Rina turned to Gazzy and Angel.

"Okay guys. This is a map of Itex. The program is in this room, in the right desk drawer. It's a CD disk labeled 'Itex plans'. You may have to dig a bit. Wear the gloves you found in your bags." They took two sets of gloves out of their pockets and put them on as Rina continued. "There will be lasers on the floors of these two hallways," she pointed to two halls near the office. " So I'd suggest flying through. When you get to the doorway, they're going to ask for voice recognition." Lasers? Voice recognition? I bet those whitecoats eat gourmet, first class meals while they hardly feed us at all! "Gazzy, when they ask for that, say the following in this voice. 'Of course it's me, let me in!'" She spoke with a deep, booming, impatient man's voice.

"Of course it's me, let me in!" Gazzy matched the tone perfectly, and Angel let out a little giggle at the sentence.

"I know, the guy who works in that office has a little problem with temper. He's made it part of his lifestyle. But can you do it?"

"Yes, mam." They replied in unison.

"Good. And good luck!" Rina called after them as they ran off. Then she turned to us.

"And now for you two. It works like this. I sit on the floor over there, you stand next to me, and if someone tries to attack me, you attack them first. Shake me or something if Max or Nudge needs me." Well, that didn't sound too hard. She walked over and sat cross-legged on the white tile. "And your job starts now." With that, she closed her eyes and looked like she was either thinking, concentrating, or meditating.

It was all pretty quiet, with Rina sitting like a statue, Nudge typing like crazy, and Max and Fang watching the computer screen flicker with different windows. I took a moment to think. I couldn't believe this was happening. Rina was back, we were all free, and we were saving the world. I thought we would be dead or doing late experiments or something. I didn't think I would be standing here well fed and in new clothes, watching Rina meditate next to me, and imagining how to blow up the accursed School so the evil scientists wouldn't start the By-Half Plan. Incredible what happens when you live my life.

Nudge stood up. "I'm in." She claimed. "Now you can crash the system, Max." Max looked a bit insecure, but Nudge had done so well that all she had to do was type a few commands. She took the chair and got to work.

"Flyboys coming." Rina said in a dreamy state unlike her usual energetic self. "Twenty one of them from the left. I'd get ready to fight if I were you. They're after me and Max." Immediately Nudge, Fang, and I assumed fighting positions. No one was getting Rina or Max! Not if I had anything to say about it!

They swarmed through the doorway and tried to make a beeline for Rina and Max. We were faster. I started with the one closest to Rina and punched him across his jaw. While he tried to hold in the circuits and wires, I went around him and kicked the base in his spine. He crumpled immediately, and I got to work on the next one. By the time Max was almost done spreading the virus, we had gotten rid of almost all of them. We just saw one more to get rid of. But that one was the strangest one.

From memories of Ari, this was a grown up version of him. He looked like crap, his face stretched and spreaded to cover his eraser build, his awkward muscles too large for a seven-year old build, a pair of large wings grafted clumsily onto his back. But there was one technical difficulty: he died in the fight at the Itex in Germany. His expiration date caught up with him right as he killed some flyboy. How could it be?

"Hello, Ari, or should I call you Ari 2?" Rina said in the same dreamy state. "Were you trying to capture me?" Oh. He's a clone. Go figure.

"Ari 2. And yes. I'm giving you one chance. Come quietly and no one gets hurt." He snarled. Yep, that's Ari's clone all right.

"She's not going anywhere." I snarled right back from behind him. Then I kicked him in the base of his spine, and Nudge got him in the groin from the front. He crumpled like all the other flyboys. Apparently those whitecoats were too busy planning to kill the world to fix the glitches in their law enforcement.

"Great job, guys!" Rina sprang up from her spot on the floor, her voice back to its normal excited tone. "Sorry I sounded so weird earlier, but that happens when my mind is everywhere at once. I have to divide my energy."

"That would explain it." I commented. "But why did you come back all of a sudden?" My question was answered two seconds later, when Gazzy and Angel blasted through the doors.

"We got it! We got it!" They sounded pretty proud of themselves. Rina beamed.

"Great job, you guys! Have you been thinking of a bomb to explode the School with?"

Gazzy stopped eyeing the dead flyboys enough to answer. "How about another Big Papa, Ig?"

"I was just thinking the same thing, Gazzy."

"Okay, so that's one Big Papa, and you're going to need-" Rina said. She knew everything we would need, and it appeared next to us as she listed it, but I'm not going to tell you every little detail, for once. Even if I told you what we used, you still might be able to figure out how to make it work, and I don't want that on my hands. So suck it up and keep reading.

We were almost done with the bomb, and I was just about to connect the red wire with the green wire, when Rina interjected.

"Uh, Iggy, it'll be a more destructive boom if you connect the blue wire with the green, instead of red." I looked at her inquisitively. "Well, the blue wire holds more power than this red one, but only if you connect it with the green wire. There'll be more electricity zooming through it, and the bomb will have more power." She explained. "It also wouldn't hurt if you added a bit more powder to the bomb, with the current supply, you'll only blow up this and the offices." Whoa. Rina is a bomb expert?

"Wow, Rina. You're pretty, smart, powerful, talented, and a bomb expert?! You better watch out, or Iggy's going to marry you on the spot!" Gazzy declared. Rina blushed, and a shocked Nudge elbowed him in the gut.

"What? I was just saying what Iggy was thinking, right, Ig?" Gazzy said while massaging his new sore spot.

"Well, you're mostly right, but you missed funny and sweet. And she's not pretty, she's at least gorgeous." I missed the blush she always wore whenever I complimented her.

"Okay, everyone, let's clear out of the building we're going to blow this place sky-high!" Rina yelled, trying to ignore my comment. I could tell she was pleased, though. Everyone ran out of the room, except for me and Rina (surprise). She was about to follow them, but something made her stop and crumple next to Ari 2. I ran over to her and picked her up in my arms. She was unconscious, and the only movement I saw from her was her breath and Ari 2 stirring. Wait, Ari 2?

Sure enough, Ari 2 was getting up right next to me, holding a needle filled halfway with a green liquid in his hand. Something told me that needle made her unconscious. Rage filled me, but only for a few seconds.

"I told you someone would get hurt. Better take you too, you may be of some use to me." Then that evil Ari 2 stuck the same needle into my hand, and I fell asleep instantly.

**Buh buh BUH! Sorry for the evil cliffie, I just had to end it there, and a cliffie was just too dang irresistible! Just as Rina is so irresistible to Iggy and vice versa. Hope you like this chapter. I will admit that Rina coming back was kinda obvious, but I bet you didn't see that last part coming! **

**And please tell me, in a review, if you would want a third Our Genie, Rina. If the vast majority of you say yes, not only would you get a third one, but a lot of extra details and twists in the sequel's plot to make the third one make sense. Basically if you ask for a third one, you get a lot of bonus features and extra stuff. But if you all say no, you just get a sequel that's a lot simpler and less detailed. Either way I'm doing a third fanfic, I just might make that third fanfic another OGR story. Except it's not so much about Rina…**

**Oh, and DarkBlade98 raised a very good question. Yes, Rina will pretty much be human if she looses her powers. And ghj1, I'm sorry. I'm not telling everyone what for, I'm just saying sorry.**

**Please review! They make me do my happy blinkie bounce, which means I'm very happy! **


	11. Life or Death

**Hi fanfic readers! You all seemed to like the last chapter, so I think it's safe to give you this one. I mean, I don't have to go into hiding for fear of getting pelted by tomatoes for my lack of writing skills, so that must be a good thing! I think everyone's wondering "what happened to Rina and Iggy?" so this chapter will explain it.**

**And as always, thanks to all my lovely reviewers, including Katie-3llen, xxApocalypsexx, maximumride4ever, DarkBlade98, ghj1, Bubble Blower, and IssytheWriter.**

**Oh, and one thing before I start, does anyone want a third sequel to Our Genie, Rina? Like a sequel after the sequel? I have to ask you now because if you guys say yes, I need to make a few alterations to the sequel for everything to make sense. So far I have one response, and that's a yes. Does anyone else want one? Or do you not want one? Please tell me!**

**And another thing before I start. Sorry, this part isn't a real chapter, I'm just doing this thing because I want to. And I want my wish to come true. But if it weren't for this I wouldn't update, so you all should thank EVIL-Max for making this up and making me post it.**

**1.Write the name of a person of the opposite sex.  
2. Which is your favorite color out of red, black, blue, green, yellow?  
3. Your first initial?  
4. Your month of birth?  
5. Which color do you like more, black or white?  
6. Name of a person of the same sex as yours.  
7. Your favorite number?  
8. Do you like California or Florida more?  
9. Do you like the lake or the ocean more?  
10. Write down a wish (a realistic one).  
**

**Are you done?  
If so, scroll down  
(don't cheat--)  
THE ANSWERS  
1. You are completely in love with this person.  
2. If you choose:  
Red: You are alert and your life is full of love.  
Black: You are conservative and aggressive.  
Green: Your soul is relaxed and you are laid back.  
Blue: You are spontaneous and love kisses and affection from the ones you  
love.  
Yellow: You are a very happy person and give good advice to those who are  
down.  
3. If your initial is:  
A-K: You have a lot of love and friendships in your life.  
L-R: You try to enjoy life to the maximum and your love life is soon to  
blossom.  
S-Z: You like to help others and your future love life looks very good.  
4. If you were born in:  
Jan.-Mar.: The year will go very well for you and you will discover that you  
fall in love with someone totally unexpected.  
Apr.-June: You will have a strong love relationship that will not last long but  
the memories will last forever.  
July-Sept.: You will have a great year and will experience a major life  
changing experience for the good.  
Oct.-Dec.: Your love life will not be too great, but eventually you will find your soul mate.  
5. If you choose...  
Black: Your life will take on a different direction, it will seem hard at the time  
but will be the best thing for you, and you will be glad for the change.  
White: You will have a friend who completely confides in you and would do  
anything for you, but you may not realize it.  
6. This person is your best friend.  
7. This is how many close friends you have in a lifetime.  
8. If you choose...  
California: You like adventure.  
Florida: You are a laidback person.  
9. If you choose...  
Lake: You are loyal to your friends and your love. And you are very reserved.  
Ocean: You are spontaneous and like to please people.  
10. This wish will come true only if you RE-POST THIS BULLETIN in one hour and it will come true before your next birthday.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't need it, happy with making my own versions of it, thanks!**

**Chapter 11: Life or Death (once again, I am forced to remind you that I'm horrible when it comes to naming stuff. I pity my possible future kids, they'll probably be stuck with names they hate. I can name characters pretty good, though! I think)**

**POV Iggy**

Man, since when did my head hurt this bad? I tried to move my hands and put a bit of pressure to my head to stop the pain, but they wouldn't move. When my head stopped throbbing so much, I realized that they were tied behind me, propped against the back of a wooden chair.

I opened my eyes enough to see the dingy basement that I was sitting in the middle of. It was all cement walls and floor, with dirt scattered across the floor. A single lightbulb lit the area. Some stairs lead off to the higher levels, but the door was locked with a key. There wasn't a lot of furnishing, just a card table with something shiny on it-a knife, I realized. I tried to avoid that part of the room and focus on what was next to me. To my right was more gray wall, and on my left was Rina! Even when she was unconscious she was beautiful, her head slumped on her right shoulder.

"I heard that." She said and lifted her head to smile at me. She yawned. "I only just got up. What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"No, all I remember is leaving to set off the bomb, and then it's all black."

"Ari 2 woke up, and you were standing right next to him, so he took a needle with some green liquid in it and stuck it in your ankle. I tried to go pick you up and get help for you or something, but he said something like 'I told you someone would get hurt. I'll take you too, you may be of use to me,' and then he stuck the same needle in me. I woke up here bound to this chair, and that was only a minute ago. Then you woke up. But I don't get it. How could that liquid affect you? You're a genie, wouldn't you be protected by your powers?"

"Well, my powers protect me only if I had my defenses up. I didn't think he would wake up and inject me so suddenly, so my guard was down. You know, kinda like how Angel can read my mind when my defenses are down."

"Can you get us out, or do you need your defenses to be up for that too?"

"Ha ha. Of course I can!" She tried to untie the rope around her, but it stayed clinging to her wrists. She thrust her head back. "Great."

"What's wrong?"

"The green liquid must have shorted out my powers. It's not permanent, but it might be a while."

"But you just read my mind!"

"That's the easiest power to use. My mental abilities always come back first, then my physical powers."

"Great, just great. We can't get out. Do you even know where we are?"

"Basement of Itex. I only just figured it out, so I must have gotten that power back just now."

"Well, I guess that's pretty good. But Itex? I thought we would have left by now!"

"We didn't because we were the last ones out and Ari got us. The others did, though. We're lucky they're still waiting for us and not blowing this place to bits."

"I didn't think they were that patient."

"They aren't. They're about ready to come in, they want to break up our 'makeout session', which is what they think we're having."

"Send a thought to them. Tell them we're here."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A new voice from the top of the stairs threatened. Ari 2 came down the stairs, evil practically drooling from his fangs. He looked at me with a look of disgust, and he looked at Rina with a sort of lust, which was sickening. Why would he look at her like that? Did he- oh, _no way_.

"Back off, dog face." I snarled. "She's mine, not yours."

"Temper, bird boy. She'll soon be mine, anyways, so quit your complaining. And it's about time you woke up, you were here for about an hour now." He did _not _just say that part about Rina being his.

"I'm going to say this one more time. Cooperate," He said as he picked up and examined the knife. "And no one gets hurt." He stabbed the table to prove his point. "Now, Sabrina,"

"Rina. And I'll never do that, _never_. So don't even think about it." She sneered.

"I think you may think differently after I prove my point, but first, let's say this out loud for the people who can't read minds. I want you to become my genie and give me the eternal wishes. I can use my wishes to my own advantage, and your little flock will be free to go. Say no and you die. It's simple, really."

"No. I'll never do it. I can't do that to the flock, myself, and all those innocent people. No. It's simple, really." Atta girl, Rina. That's my girlfriend. She sent me a smile, and I sent one in return.

"Fine. You would have made a great genie, and I'm sure you would have had a lot of fun with your masters. But if it has to come to this, then I'll do it. Goodbye." The smile wiped off my face as he pried the knife out of the table and loomed over her with an evil grin. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight, I was frozen in terror. Rina, on the other hand, was perfectly calm, her eyes staring into Ari 2's with an intense stare, a small smile on her face.

Ari 2 paused for a second, but then recovered and striked. But instead of hitting the intended target, which was the center of her forehead, the dagger stopped an inch from her face. Ari 2 and I were both stunned with shock, and Rina had a triumphant look on her face.

"It doesn't work like that, Ari 2. I'm protected by my powers and genie law. You can't kill me." She smiled at me and relief filled me. I should have known. He can't kill her!

"Of course, immortal, how could I forget?" Ari 2 muttered. Then an imaginary lightbulb popped over his head. "You may not be able to die, but _he_ can!" In one movement he ran over behind me, pulled my hair so my neck was in reach, and pressed the knife against it. I was terrified, and you would be too, if some clone of a family friend was about to kill you with a knife. Rina's satisfied face turned to fear in a split second, and suddenly she looked much more willing to wish herself over to be Ari's master.

"Rina, don't do it! He'll do horrible things to everyone if you don't let him kill me!" I tried to tell her as best I could with a knife in my neck.

"That's why I left you! Horrible things would happen to everyone if I stayed and distracted you! There must be another way! There always is!" There was a pleading tone in her voice.

"There is no other way. Tell me how to kill you, or your boyfriend dies." Ari threatened.

"No, Rina, don't!" I sounded kinda like when I was begging her to stay with us, except this had more urgency.

"I have to." She sighed, and a tear trickled down her cheek. I wanted to wipe it away. "I can be killed when I'm free. When my master wishes me to be free." Oh, so those Aladdin movies actually had some truth to them. The knife pressed harder to my throat.

"Wish her free, bird boy, or you'll never see your flock again."

"I'll never see Rina again either way, she's part of the flock." I retorted.

"Iggy, just wish me free. You'll see."

"No! I'm not going to let you grant the wishes for the spawn of Satan! He'll do evil things to you and everyone else! I won't do it." The knife was pressed so hard I was bleeding. I'm not sure why he pushed it closer, maybe because I said I wouldn't do it, or maybe because I called him the son of Satan.

"I'm not going to let you die, Iggy. You almost starved yourself because I left, and I won't let you almost kill yourself again! I can manage." She was speaking in my mind now. "He'll have to wish for everything, I won't cooperate or do requests, only direct wishes. And there are some wishes I can't grant him. They don't have law for nothing. Please, Iggy? Do it for me?" I don't know what made me do it, but there was something in her eyes. I think she knew something I didn't.

"R-rina, I wish you were f-free." The knife came off of me instantly, and I was able to breathe again. I could feel the blood trickling down my neck, but I didn't care. Rina was free. I didn't know how to feel. Rina didn't tell me much about being free. I decided on being upset because now Rina had to be Ari 2's genie and I would hardly, if never, see her again.

Ari 2 pressed his knife to Rina's throat, this time actually coming in contact with her skin. "Now, how about being my genie? And don't say no this time."

"How about this answer?" Rina growled. Her hands and mine were freed instantly, and she kicked him in the shins, punched his nose, and threw him over her shoulder, where he laid unconscious, blood gushing out of his nose.

"I'm not a genie anymore." She said to his lifeless body. Then she looked at her trembling hands in shock. "I'm not a genie anymore." She repeated. "I'm free! I'm FREE! Oh, Iggy!"

As I was standing up and stretching, she pulled me into a hug so hard she almost squished me. "I'm so happy, Iggy, I hated being a genie, but I couldn't complain after the Aladdin incident, but you know genies are people too, and you FREED me, Iggy, you freed me! You're the best person in the world, Iggy, the greatest, most people would keep me out of greed, even if they were dead, but you trusted me and my plan and freed me!" I shut her up with a kiss. She was going to turn into Nudge if she did this anymore! Why do I always get the motormouths?

We broke apart. "You knew this would all happen?"

"Yeah, this is one of the few times where I know what I'm doing."

"What did you think would happen?"

"I thought I would pretend like I was going to be his genie. And you would wish me to be free, and then I couldn't be a genie to anyone, especially not Ari 2. That way everyone but the bad guys win. You and I are both alive and free, the flock isn't harmed, and the world is saved!"

"Are your plans always this smart?"

"Not always. Usually I don't even have one. Even though I can just look in the future and make sure everything's supposed to happen, I just like to wing it. I didn't plan for you all to get my iPod, for you guys to let me hang out with you, for my little chant to bring up Fax, for Max and Fang's makeout session to lead to you and me walking and talking, for Angel and Nudge to tell me that you like me, for you guys to see the future, for me to leave, for me to come back, for us to save the world, or for Ari 2 to capture us. That was all just chance and last-minute thinking. I never knew that any of that would lead us here."

"So do you at least have a vague outline of what's supposed to happen, or do you just make it all up as you go?"

She shrugged. "A little here, a little there. Mostly the second one, though." I grinned.

"But now that you're free-"

"Oh, yeah, you don't know. Well, when I'm free I still get to keep my powers. I don't have to grant wishes anymore, and I can do whatever I want within reason."

"And what are you going to do with your new freedom? Go out and see the world? Entertain little kids with displays of your powers?"

"Nah, I still can only show my powers to a few people. And seeing the world gets boring after a while. I was thinking more along the lines of meeting up with some friends who are also free and see what happens from there."

"And who are these friends?" That didn't sound too much like she would be staying with us. Would she leave us?

**Well, everyone, I hope you liked that chapter, and I'll see you later! Just kidding!**

"You and the flock, of course!"

"Ah, good, you're staying with us!" I tried to keep my voice to a casual happy tone, but really I was thrilled. Rina would stay with us! I was so happy that she still wanted to hang around us.

"Yes, of course I'm staying! I couldn't live without any of you! Especially you, Iggy. You said I was like a member of the flock-"

"Well, actually, you are a member of the flock."

"Okay, I'm a member of the flock. And I want to stay and help. Be around people who know who I am and what I can do. Be around people I know and love. I think you guys would miss me, too. I know I would."

"Good, because we definitely would miss you. I'm glad you're staying. Oh, and one more question?"

"Yeah?"

"What about him?" I pointed at Ari 2, still lifeless on the floor.

"Oh yeah, Ari 2. Lemme think for a moment." She thought for a second, and then perked up. "Well, I could always use a replacement genie."

"But he'll have the power to grant all his own wishes! He could make everything change in his favor!"

"Not if I add other few restrictions to him! One second." She held her hands out, and his scars instantly healed. She took the knife he used to threaten our lives with, and sucked him into it. "Meet the new genie and his house. I'll send him to a knife shop and he can start his new life, what do you think?"

"He'd be sold pretty fast. How about we give him to Goodwill and pass him off as a dinner knife?"

"That'll work too." The knife vanished from her hand. "Now let's get out of here, the flock is probably worried sick." We rushed up the stairs, Rina exploded the lock, and we ran for the outdoors.

"Where were you?" Max asked angrily, her features highlighted by the rising sun. "How long can two people make out? We've been waiting for two hours!"

"Can we blow up the School now?" Gazzy asked from behind her.

I was about to answer, but Rina cut in. "Let's blow it up, and we'll explain everything on the flight. And we weren't making out."

"What flight?" she asked.

"How about Oregon? Like on the coast or something? That way if the scientists look for us, which is highly unlikely, we'll have a jump start."

"Okay, I guess. Let's blow up this hellhole, guys!" I couldn't resist. I had to race Gazzy to the button. We pressed it at the same time.

Ah, the first explosion I've seen in forever. It was by far the loudest, since we had an unlimited supply of powder, but it was also a treat for my eyes! I mean, I never thought flying debris would be this cool to watch! And the fire and chunks of building were too outstanding! Take that, you bastards! Gazzy, Rina, and I, the three bomb experts, were laughing maniacly, and the others were grinning and slapping high fives. This is the life.

**Yay! What a happy ending for this chapter! But actually, this isn't the end of the story! There's one more chapter to go, and then once I get all the votes for a third story (so far one yes!) and get some of the final details down for the sequel, I'll do the sequel!**

**And please, review! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Plus I need to know if you want a third one, because it's important to the sequel!**


	12. Keep Holding On

**Man, I just want to thank everyone who already read this story. You really made it worth my while to write this! I mean, I have over a thousand hits and 87 reviews, and this story is on 14 favorites' lists and 10 alerts lists. And reviewers, thank you so much for all your support! Everyone rocks here! **

**I hope I'll see you all when the sequel is up. And you're all lucky. I wrote the entire plot just yesterday! I know exactly what will happen in the story. But I'll only tell you that the title is Free Rina, and there will be quite a few surprises in it! I hope you like it. And I hope you all like the final chapter of Our Genie, Rina! (sniff) It's almost over! Well, here you go. Enjoy! Oh yeah, and this is a songfic, and the song is "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne. Lavigne rules! **

**Disclaimer: I only own Rina and the plot for this story and the sequel (plus I got some ideas from DarkBlade98 that I'm going to use in the sequel, and I'm mentioning this because I'll probably forget when the time comes to mention it). Plus I've got the outline for the third one, so I own that too! Other than that it's all James Patterson's. But wouldn't it be so cool if I owned all the states I mentioned?**

**Chapter 12: Keep Holding On (that's right, keep holding on for the sequel!)**

**POV Rina**

We flew as far away as possible from the ruins of the School. It's a good thing we did, too, as soon as we were two miles away I could hear the whitecoat's minds mourning over their precious "science lab" and wanting to kill whoever did this.

On the way over here, Iggy and I told everything we experienced with Ari 2. We got various whoops and cheers when I announced that Iggy wished me free. It only got louder when I said that I was still going to stay. I think they grew dependant of me. But I'm dependant of them too, so it all evens out.

We camped on the Oregon coast, a walk away from a cliff looking out over the ocean. But even though we were safe, the scientists could never find us, and Ari 2 wouldn't be free for a long time, I couldn't sleep. You'd think with Iggy next to me I could manage a bit of shuteye, but I just couldn't. He must have sensed it, because late that night (the moon was right above us, but I still didn't know what time it was) he rolled over, eyes wide open.

"Can't sleep, huh?" He whispered.

"How did you know?"

"I could sense it. You want to go on a walk with me?"

"Sure." It's not like I was going to get to sleep just lying here. We managed to get up without waking up anyone (I was always kinda clumsy), and walked through this strange new forest to the cliff.

"Jump?" I asked.

"Okay, but me first. I'll catch you at the bottom."

"Fine." I waved a hand towards the cliff. He took a flying leap (pun intended) and swept out his wings about halfway down. He glided to a smooth stop on the sand and held out his arms. I followed suit, and before I knew it I was in his arms, belly up. And I won't lie. I made myself a bit lighter for him. I don't think he's weak, I just feel a little self-conscious.

We walked across the beach for a little bit, until we got to a rock about five feet from the waves with some shrubs behind it. He sat down, and I'm able to take a hint, so I sat next to him.

"Do you want to talk? Like, about the School or something?" I felt kinda awkward sitting and not talking.

"Actually, I'd like to have one night where I don't have to hear about the School." Iggy responded.

"Right, sorry." We were silent for a second.

"Hey Rina?"

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering…it's been bugging me for a while now, but what were you thinking when you left?"

I wasn't exactly expecting that. "Well, sadness for what would happen in the future. Anger that I had to leave. I didn't want to leave. But I had to."

"Rina, can't you come up with a better excuse than 'I had to'?" Iggy sounded exasperated.

"Well, the thing is, I only said that so many times because I didn't want to worry you. The real reason is that if genie law enforcement, or GLF, found out that I disobeyed and stayed with you, they'd do horrible things. They'd take away my powers, possibly isolate me from all contact. Genies are social creatures, we depend on people and powers. We go insane if we don't have at least one of them. And once they take away my powers, everything I've ever done with them would be erased. And we couldn't be able to fix it unless somebody wished it so. They're pretty smart, those GLF. They don't fix it because they want to show us that when you disobey, everyone gets punished, and it's all your fault. That's why I had to leave. I couldn't handle that on my conscious."

"Wow, that's kinda harsh."

"I didn't say they were the nicest beings in the universe."

"Who are the nicest beings, then?"

"Extinct. Another planet got sick of them and sent their form of missiles to them, and those Martians didn't stop the missiles because it would hurt the other planet's feelings. That's why there's no life on Mars."

"That explains a lot." He paused. "But why didn't you stay? We could have lived without your powers, and we'd break you out if you were isolated."

"No, you couldn't live without my powers. I helped Jeb save you when you were still in the School. I made those guards fall asleep and I made that house for you. You'd be long dead, and the world along with it, if my powers didn't interfere. And you can't break in if I'm isolated. You wouldn't be able to find genie headquarters unless you were with a genie, for one thing. And only a genie can get me out. I appreciate it, but you wouldn't be able to."

"Rina, I'd have done anything to see you again. You were driving me crazy, and you weren't even there. I missed you so much."

"You didn't have to miss me so much! You could have moved on. You can live without me."

"No, I can't. Believe me, I've tried. It didn't work." I grinned. I think that was supposed to be a joke. "But Rina, all the time you were gone, I was wondering where you were and what you were doing, if you were thinking of us at all. So now's your chance to tell me. What happened to you when we were gone? What were you thinking? Did you miss us?"

"And what if I don't want to talk?" I didn't know why I was being so stubborn. I guess I just wanted to see how desperate he was.

"Oh, I have ways." He grinned evilly. The next thing I knew I was on the sand, laughing and gasping, and Iggy was on top of me. He sure knew how to play, I'll give him that. "I'll give you one more chance. Answer my question."

"Never!" I grinned. He, well, he did some rather interesting stuff, most of which involved kissing me and adjusting our position so he was sitting cross-legged on the sand and I was sitting in his lap and being smothered by his chest. What if someone saw us? The thought crossed my mind a few times, only to be silenced by a new movement from Iggy. Finally I gave in.

"All right, all right, I'll tell! Just let me get up!"

"Aww, I was having so much fun!" he whined, still grinning in that evil way he had. "But let's hear it."

I adjusted my position so we were sitting cross-legged across from each other. "When I left you, I went to genie headquarters and told my boss all about you guys and how I had to leave you early. For my record, and yours." I added, seeing his confused expression. "Every being that is or has met a genie has to have a profile. We need records. So anyways, Charlie- my boss- was interested with you guys. He said it was a big honor working for world-savers. He didn't exactly approve of us being together, but what happened is what happened. But at the end of the story I kinda lost it. I started crying. I couldn't help it. I didn't want to leave you. But I had to, and I wouldn't be able to forget you easily. So Charlie gave me a vacation.

"I decided to visit some Earth attractions, mainly European cities. But I couldn't stop thinking of you guys. I tried to train myself not to check the iPod for any messages from you. Yes, I got your messages. Even Angel sent me a message while you were sleeping. I still missed you a ton, but I was learning to ignore it, and I had almost learned not to hurt so much when I thought about you guys when I got your message that you were in the School.

"You got the messages? But why didn't you respond?" I'd give anything to not hear how hurt Iggy sounded when he said that.

"I wanted to, I really did. But if I did, you'd respond, and then I'd respond back, and you'd ask for advice, and I'd have to give it to you, or you might ask me to come back, and I'd never be able to say no. And if I just stopped talking, you'd be even more hurt than if you never heard from me in the first place. I thought it would be best not to respond, for the time being.

"It was really hard making the decision to save you. I almost didn't. But then I realized that I could either feel really bad because I let you and the entire world die, or I could save you, get punished, and save an entire world with people I love in it. Either way I loose, so I might as well make more people win while I'm loosing. I was going to just pop open your latches, but you still wouldn't know how to save the world, you needed an extra person to save it, and I wanted to see you one more time. So I dressed up as a whitecoat and freed you myself, oblivious of the punishments."

"But wait, why aren't you being punished right now?"

I smirked. "That's the beauty of the plan I had earlier. When you wished me free, the GLF couldn't punish me for anything I did as a genie. When you get wished free, it's like a clean slate. In the records, I'm an entirely different person. And there are only a handful of freed genies, so it's not a huge problem making new records for freed people. We only have one freed genie a decade, maybe two. I remember one year when we had three genies freed in the same year. They declared a holiday for that occasion."

"So freeing a genie is a pretty big deal?"

"You better believe it. Not a lot of people want to waste one whole wish on freeing a genie. The people who do wish one free are most often vain people who want to be the only ones to have had a genie and no one else can have us. But you're not like that, Iggy. And that's one of the reasons I love you." He blushed.

"It isn't that important. You just have to place yourself in their shoes."

"I know. And it is important. Many people never do that. I wish more people were like you."

"Can't you grant your own wishes now? Or do you need a genie too?"

"I can. But where's the fun in making the world perfect? It's all boring. No wars, no stupid people, no explosions."

"I would miss explosions. And stupid people are always funny." We sat next to each other and stared at the tides for some time. Then a song got stuck in my head. I couldn't help it. I hummed it to myself. And Iggy's ears, after years of being depended on when he was blind, picked up my almost silent tones.

"What are you humming?"

"Nothing. Just some song stuck in my head."

"Which one?"

"Some song I heard on the radio. Michelle Branch, I think. No wait, it's Avril Lavigne."

"But which song is it?"

"Well, the thing is I never caught what the title was. I remember the lyrics, though. I can sing it just fine, I just don't know the title."

"Sing it to me."

"What? Sing it to you? Why should I?"

"I just want to know, that's all."

I sighed. "Fine. But I'm not a good singer."

"_You're not alone._

_Together we stand._

_I'll be by your side,_

_You know I'll take your hand._

_When it gets cold_

_And it feels like the end,_

_There's no place to go,_

_You know I won't give in._

_No, I won't give in._

"_Keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through._

_Just stay strong,_

'_Cause you know I'm here for you._

_There's nothing you can say,_

_There's nothing you can do,_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth._

_So keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through."_

I stopped there. I better not expose Iggy to too much of my horrible singing. I turned to look at him and make sure he wasn't paralyzed with horror at my voice. He wasn't. Instead, he faced me, confused.

"Why did you stop?"

"So you wouldn't be scarred for life because my singing is so horrible."

"I didn't think you were bad. I liked it. I've never heard you sing before."

"Really? Are you pulling my leg? I'm pathetic!"

"No, you're not. C'mon, sing the rest of it!"

"You really want me to?" I couldn't believe it. I'm bad, I know it!

"Yes, I want you to. Why wouldn't I?" Well, if he really wants me to…

"_So far away._

_I wish you were here._

_Before it's too late_

_This could all disappear._

_Before the doors close_

_And it comes to an end_

_With you by my side_

_I will fight and defend._

_I'll fight and defend._

"_Keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through._

_Just stay strong,_

'_Cause you know I'm here for you._

_There's nothing you can say,_

_There's nothing you can do,_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth._

_So keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through._

_Hear me when I say_

_When I say I believe._

_Nothing's gonna change_

_Nothing's gonna change destiny._

_Whatever's meant to be_

_Will work out perfectly._

_Yeah, yeah, yeah._

_La da da da, la da da da,_

_La da da da da da da da da da_

"_Keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through._

_Just stay strong_

'_Cause you know I'm here for you._

_I'm here for you._

_There's nothing you can say,_

_There's nothing you can do,_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth._

_So keep holding on_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through,_

_We'll make it through._

_Ahh, ahh,_

_Keep holding on,_

_Ahh, ahh,_

_Keep holding on,_

_There's nothing you can say,_

_There's nothing you can do,_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth._

_So keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through,_

_We'll make it through._

I was quiet, and so was Iggy. I just stared at the advancing and receding tides, trying not to blush too much. Then Iggy spoke.

"I didn't know you could sing like that, Rina. Was that your natural voice?"

"Yes, it was my original voice. Is that good or bad?" I was still suspicious. Was he just trying to let me down gently?

"Rina, how many times do I need to say it? You're a great singer, and the person who told you otherwise was deaf. Take it from a guy with super-developed hearing. You're great."

I let it sink in. I was a great singer. I didn't think I was bad, I just never thought I was great. All the other girls were better at me in high school. But they were genies too, so I guess I must sound pretty good to a human. But then again, I'm half human now, so I must have lost some of my "genie charm", which includes singing. But he still thought I was good…

I don't know how long we sat speechless. It was like our bodies talked in their little ways, like Iggy using his thumb to give my hand a little massage and my head resting on his shoulder. I don't know why, but I wanted something more. I just didn't know what it was that I wanted. In spite of my silence, I sighed.

"What's wrong?" Iggy asked, his body transferring from calm to concerned.

"I don't know." I lifted my head from his shoulder. "I mean, this is great and all, but there's just something I want. I don't know what it is, but I want it so bad right now."

"You know, I feel the same way. But what do we want?" He turned to me, and I just now saw those amazing blue eyes I missed so much. They were a clear blue, as light as the sky. I love those eyes. He was gazing into mine at exactly the same time, and I think we both just realized what we wanted. But should we? We've done it a lot, but my body was paralyzed. What if we never stopped once we started? Because alone…on a beach…with no people in sight… did we have that much control?

"Go for it!" As this was yelled by neither me or Iggy, we swiveled around.

What the h-e-double hockey sticks was the rest of the flock doing spying on us behind those shrubs? Gazzy and Angel had smiles from ear to ear, Max was grinning evilly, Fang had payback written all over his face (with a small smile, surprisingly), and Nudge was smiling guiltily and gave a little wave, clearly the one who had just yelled out that last statement.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it! You both wanted to so much, but you weren't going to, so…" Nudge trailed off.

"We've been watching since Rina was explaining genie freedom." Angel answered. Dang, she can read my mind again! I'm so bad at blocking it. "Iggy's right, you have a good singing voice, Rina! Don't let those high school girls convince you otherwise." Well, that was a little sweet, but I wish they wouldn't hear me without my permission!

"How did you watch us for this long?" Iggy asked.

"It was easy, we just had to not make any noise and not think too much. And you guys were completely unaware of us anyways." Angel answered.

"But why?"

"Well, the little kids were curious, and Fang and I want payback for the Great Salt Lake." Max answered.

"How do you know about that?" I asked.

Gazzy grinned sheepishly. "I'll do anything for chocolate."

"Gazzy! We told you not to tell Max!" Iggy scolded.

"Well, I didn't tell _Max_. Her boyfriend made me tell him." Fang made a smile that matched Max's.

"You got to witness our private moments, we get to witness yours. But I'm not satisfied yet." He said.

"I'm sorry, we didn't guarantee your satisfaction or your money back." I growled. What were we, a romance movie?

"Actually, a romance movie calls for music." Angel addressed me. Instantly, my mind filled with Kiss the Girl, the very same song I played in Max and Fang's head. A grimace from Iggy told me that he heard it too.

"C'mon, guys, you know you want to!" Nudge told us.

"I agree with Nudge. You missed each other so much, and you haven't done it in forever, so why not?" I think Nudge was grateful that Gazzy was backing her up.

"Let's see some payback." Max said. Fang nodded in agreement, back to his stoic self.

"Angel?" I almost pleaded. She only made the song louder. Iggy and I turned away from them, back towards the tides.

"Wanna gross out the little kids?" I mentally asked Iggy.

"They wouldn't exactly be grossed out, you know." He sent back.

"I know. But do you want to?"

"Only if you do."

I nodded, and he leaned in. I followed suit, and we kissed. Unaware of the cheers and "YES's" around us, we kept kissing like we never had before. Because this time we knew that this was one of many, and I was going to be here to return these for a long time. Iggy's sandy hand crept up my arm, and mine found it's way into his hair. We stayed like that for an eternity, and I wouldn't have minded doing it longer, but our limitations made us break apart for air. The flock was gone by then. They've had their show.

"Wow." Iggy said.

"Yeah. Wow."

"I feel better now."

"As in complete, or as in getting closer?"

"Complete."

"Me too." We smiled at the same time and leaned in for more. Now I felt satisfied, and I never wanted to leave this paradise.

**(sniff) It's over! Our Genie, Rina is over! And wasn't that a sweet ending? I think it was. But don't worry faithful readers, the sequel is called Free Rina, and I'm posting it as soon as I can!**

**Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed or read this story. And please review and tell me how you liked the ending!**

**See you at the sequel!**

**roughdiamond5**


	13. Author's Note, Sorry!

**Okay, I never thought I'd do something this weird, but I really miss you guys. For the people that stuck with me all the way, THANK YOU and you don't have to read the following note. (waits until all the people who stuck with me are out) Okay guys, just so you know, I now have two stories up after this one, the sequel is called Free Rina and the sequel to the sequel is called Tali's Tale. Please, give them a look!**

**Once again sorry for the note, but I notice that fewer and fewer people are reading. I know I suck, but I didn't think I was that bad!**


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